Foxtrot
by Senko Ryu
Summary: YYHIY After meeting a certain fox, Kag's world is once again turned upside down.While it seems that Naraku has been taken out of the picture trouble is stirring once more.It might take more than the Inugang to overcome this out of season midsummer dream.
1. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

Kagome stood there with her bow ready to fire. Her knees felt weak. _I'm only fifteen! I shouldn't be fighting evil half demons. I should be in school worrying about math tests and getting annoyed when my friends try to set me up with Hojo!_

"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha bellowed. The tentacle in front of her disintegrated in a mix of wind and yellow radiance.

"Damn it Kagome get it together!" He yelled before joining back in the fight. He dodged a tentacle and slashed it off. Another tentacle came and barreled him into a tree.

"Kukukuku. Poor Inuyasha, is this too much for you? If you would hand me the jewel shards I'll-" Kagome released her arrow. Waves of pink light exploded into the air and hit Naraku, who stopped in mid taunt. His left arm and part of his chest disappeared as if hit by acid. From his almost imperceptible grimace it probably felt that way too.

" Vile wench!" Naraku hissed. He crawled towards her.

" No you don't!" Sango shouted. Hiraikotsu flew from her hands and severed several of his limbs. Miroku, who was sitting behind her on Kirara, cut down whatever she had missed with his staff.

" Keep shooting at him Kagome! We've got your back!" Miroku hollered. They continued to fight as another horde of low class demons came through. Inuyasha got up and charged at Naraku. A centipede demon snuck past them.

" Foxfire!" Shippo quickly cast. It burnt off the demon's head and the body fell to the ground. Shippo ran back to Kagome. The demon's body rose and chased after. Shippo spotted it.

"Kagome watch out!" He cried. Kagome closed her eyes and covered her face. Nothing happened. She peeked through. There was Sesshomaru standing five feet away, his peculiar whip glowing as it ripped the flesh of various demons to pieces.

"Sesshomaru…" She whispered, in awe that he had saved her. He spared her a glance.

"Woman, keep firing at Naraku. He is in possession of most of the Shikon jewel shards. Therefore any damage caused by anyone beside you will not have a lasting effect. I shall assist the slayer and the monk." With that he was a blur on the battlefield. Kagome might have stayed there contemplating this new behavior of Sesshomaru's if he had not paused to glare at her. She squeaked and obeyed his orders. _Sesshomaru might be helping us out, but he is still scary. _

Inuyasha growled. There was just too much. When you cut something off it should stay cut off. _Damn it to hell._ He cursed as one of the tentacles pierced his abdomen. _Is it just me or do I get hit here a lot?_ He slashed the tentacle and pulled it out of his stomach._ Damn that hurts._

Kagome let loose another arrow. This time it hit the thong Naraku's neck that held the nearly whole Shikon. His neck separated from his body and the jewel flew a distance into the woods.

"Oh no!" Kagome ran after it, along with the rest of the demon population including Naraku's head.

" Kagome!" Inuyasha called but she paid no heed. Everyone gave chase after her. Now it was all one huge race for the Shikon shards.

Kagome felt as if time was slowing down. Her and, as disturbing as it is to say, Naraku's head were 'neck to neck'. The distance between them and the jewel was falling fast. Kagome's lungs were heaving and legs were burning. She was running faster than she had ever before. But it was not fast enough. The head shot forward as if in one last burst of speed.

It was a bit confusing what happened afterwards. Kagome remembered a flash of white hair and the cries of Naraku. Then everything seemed to swirl into darkness.

"Kagome? Kagome! Kagome don't be dead!" cried a distressed Shippo.

" Quiet kit. She is only unconscious." Said Sesshomaru.

" He's right Shippo. See, Kagome is waking up." Sango soothed the young demon.

"What's going on? Why is Sesshomaru here?" Kagome sat up. A headache surged abruptly over her. She clutched her head with one hand and reached for the jewels with the other. They weren't there.

"THE JEWEL SHARDS!" Kagome yelled. The group cringed, except for Sesshomaru who glared.

" All is well Lady Kagome. The jewel is beside you." Miroku was right. Beside her it lay. _It's complete?_ Kagome picked it up. _No,_ she rubbed the small crack in the jewel, _its almost complete. I guess all that's left is the shard in Kohaku. And the two in Koga's legs. _

" I guess we'll have to see that stupid wolf soon." Spoke up Inuyasha reluctantly as if reading her thoughts. A wind blew softly rustling his white hair. The last few moments before she blacked out rushed to Kagome.

" What happened after I ran out of the clearing and into the forest?" She asked.

" Well as you ran in their Naraku and all the other demons followed. But that's all I saw." Sango answered and Miroku nodded in agreement.

" You and Naraku were side by side racing each other. I didn't have enough time to help you out though. As soon as I looked away from you I was overcome by a bunch of demons." Inuyasha told her before murmuring, "Damn pests." Kagome giggled.

"I went into the forest to finish off Naraku. I seized the jewel so he could not get away with it." Sesshomaru paused and gazed up at the sky as if it were more interesting than this conversation. "I destroyed Naraku with Tokijen. The aftershock of my sword caused you to become unconscious." Kagome had a feeling that this clarification was his way of apologizing. He rarely explained anything to them on their sporadic encounters.

" Thank you Lord Sesshomaru." She smiled meekly.

" Practice your aim. You missed Naraku's head." That was all he said before disappearing amongst the trees. Kagome smiled a bit more confidently. _Maybe he isn't so bad after all…_

"Why did you thank him? You don't go around thanking basterds who knock you out! Are you crazy?" Inuyasha protested. Kagome sighed. _He doesn't get it. _

" Inuyasha…sit." Inuyasha cried out as he fell to the ground,

" Oh Inuyasha will you ever learn?" Shippo shook his head.

" Why is everyone so somber?" Miroku perked up. Sango gave him an odd look. " Come now!" Miroku tore off his prayer beads and showed his hand to everyone. Shippo fled.

" Its Gone! Yes!" Miroku sang. He grabbed Sango and hugged her. Sango was beet red. " Dance with me Sango." He held onto her hands and twirled her around. Sango laughed with him, despite the fact that hers was a bit more embarrassed.

Kagome watched them. They were a good pair. Miroku would be able to cheer Sango up when it came to her family. Sango would keep a good reign on Miroku and protect the women of Japan from him. Kagome just hoped that when Miroku proposed, he wouldn't use that 'Will you bear my children?' line. He probably wouldn't live long enough to finish the question.

"I think I should go home. I still feel a little woozy." Kagome announced.

"Okay Kagome. I bet Kirara wouldn't mind running you to the well. I'll ask Kaede to bandage up Inuyasha. You did tell me yesterday that we were almost out of bandages right?" Sango inquired. Kagome yawned and nodded.

" Yeah get some rest Kagome." Inuyasha told her as he too yawned. He leaned against the tree behind him.

" Lady Kagome you may want to come back tomorrow before dark. I'm sure the villagers would want to celebrate our victory." Miroku told her. He had his arm around Sango's shoulder. She seemed to be deliberately ignoring this.

"I'll come back after I catch up with some of my homework. I wonder if we will be wearing kimonos." Kagome said.

"The village women might so bring one with you. I hope I can borrow one from one of them." Sango said remembering sadly the one she used to have at her old village.

"I think your demon exterminator suit works just fine." Miroku smiled appreciatively. Sango didn't even bother replying. She just slapped him.

"Well I was just stating my opinion…" He trailed off with a pout. Inuyasha and Shippo rolled their eyes.

"Another grownup that will never learn." This remark earned Shippo a bop on the head from the half demon.

"If I can find one for you I'll bring it too, Sango." Kagome yawned again. " Bye guys." Kirara and her floated off and out of sight.

"I wonder why Kagome refers to all of us as guys even though I'm not a man?" Sango pondered aloud.

"I believe its just one of those 'slang' terms Kagome told us about." Miroku said with his finger on his chin in a thoughtful way.

"Slang?" Sango's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Yes. Like when she says 'cool' even though it is not cold out."

"Oh I get it. Its like the time when she said this guy was 'hot'. I asked her what she meant since the man did not have a fever. She told me that 'hot' in her time meant that the man was handsome." Sango said in an enlightened tone.

"Exactly Sango dear!" Miroku smiled. Inuyasha did not.

"Hey what did Kagome say!" He demanded. Sango discovered her slip-up.

"Its nothing Inuyasha." She searched the sky. "Look Miroku! Kirara has come back! I guess we should all head towards Kaede's hut." Sango, Miroku, and Shippo ran towards the cat demon.

"Come back here!" Inuyasha roared and hunted after them.

"Faster Kirara faster!" Cried Shippo. Kirara rose higher into the air. The fox demon threw his mushrooms at Inuyasha as he tried to pounce them. The half demon fell to the ground. _Damn hole in my stomach…_

"Good job Shippo that was close." Sango sighed.

"Tell me about it." Miroku's hand twitched.

SLAP!

"Real smooth Miroku." Miroku pushed Shippo off Kirara.

"NOOO!" The kit screamed.

"That was really unnecessary." Sango watched sadly as the kit fell to his doom.

"What can I say? Inuyasha would have caught up soon anyways. We are lucky Shippo sacrificed himself in order for the rest of us to escape."

"Sometimes I find it really hard to believe you're a monk."

"Oh Sango how could you ever doubt my virtuous ways?" Sango wondered how he kept a straight face as he said that.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Nice of you to drop in…Shippo."

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

KAGOME'S HOUSE

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Kagome opened the door and walked into her house. She slipped off her shoes. It was starting to get dark outside so her mom would be home soon. Mrs. Higurashi had gotten a job as a chef at a diner. Her best friend who ran the cozy little place had learned of Mrs. Higurashi's new hobby in cooking. Kagome and her mom had been trying a few new recipes when the friend came over. She offered Mrs. Higurashi the job, who accepted when she called her back the next day. The two got to brainstorming and decided the 'today's special' would be the new recipes she would try out.

Kagome sat down on the couch and chilled out. She didn't want to go to bed without seeing her mom first. Besides, she had to ask where Grandpa and Sota were. The house was as quiet as a grave. Kagome heard the door open and close.

Mrs. Higurashi slipped off her shoes before noticing Kagome.

"Welcome home dear." She smiled. She looked slightly more haggard than usual, but in a good way. Like when someone goes out to do a hard job but has fun doing it.

" Busy day at work?" Kagome asked.

"We were really busy today. Of course the new school arrangement helps a lot. The new students seem to have taken to the unique specials we have every day. Sasumi gave me a bonus since we had so many customers. She even suggested that if you felt better Kagome you could wait on some of the tables. We could use the extra pair of hands on these flooded Fridays." Mrs. Higurashi laughed a bit at her wording.

"Whose Sasumi?" Kagome followed her mom to the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi grabbed tea from the fridge and went to get a cup.

"Kagome do you want some tea?" Kagome nodded. "Oh Sasumi was my friend who owned the diner. Don't you remember?"

"Now I do. Hey mom where is Grandpa and Sota?"

"Sota is having a special grandparent's day at his school. It goes on for a while after school hours. They should be home in a half hour or so. Kagome have you had anything to eat yet?"

"No I got home soon before you did." Kagome said. Mrs. Higurashi opened up a bag and took out a large number of food containers.

"Good. Sasumi got a bit too much bread and turkey. I brought some home so it wouldn't go to waste. Maybe you can bring the rest tomorrow for your friends in the feudal era. But there would still be so much left…" Mrs. Higurashi tapped her chin.

"I could bring all of it if you want. Miroku said the villagers would most likely want to celebrate since..." Kagome mentally winced. She almost spilled about Naraku.

"Since what Kagome?" Her mom set down two turkey sandwiches for them to eat.

"Uh since the jewel is almost complete!" _Nice save Kagome. _"We found a large piece today." Kagome smiled convincingly.

"That's wonderful Kagome. Will you need a kimono?" How did mother guess these things?

"Do we have one that Sango could use?"

"Actually I think the ones we have are too small. Do you have time to go shopping tomorrow? The diner won't need me until roughly lunch time."

"That's sounds good to me." Mrs. Higurashi stood and took the plate with her. Neither of them had realized they ate the sandwiches until now.

" Well I'm tired. Good night." Kagome stretched and headed upstairs.

"Good night Kagome."

"Kagome! Kagome are you awake?" Mrs. Higurashi peered through her daughter's door.

"Mmmphh!" Kagome grumbled.

"Good I'll go make breakfast. That should take about as long as for you to get ready." Mrs. Higurashi closed the door. Kagome rolled over only to fall off the bed.

"Are you alright Kagome?" Grandpa called from downstairs.

"She must have fallen off her bed. Again." She heard Sota tell Grandpa. Kagome got up stiffly and rubbed her now sore shoulder. Like a drunkard, Kagome did a sort of stumble walk to the bathroom. She quickly showered and brushed her teeth. Kagome wrapped her towel around herself and went back to her room. She slipped on her navy blue long sleeved shirt and her khaki skirt.

Kagome stared back at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair. It was so strange. All of them in the feudal era had been put through many trials because of Naraku. They overcame each one and became stronger because of it. When they had finally defeated Naraku, in a fight was simple to kill. But now that she thought of it, intelligence and cunning had been his greatest weapons. Not brute strength. That was how he gained so much control over so many. That was how he hurt so many. The way he gave 'knowledge is power' a new meaning made her shiver.

In the end it was just a few hits from her purifying arrows and a blast from Tokijen. It was so…so…anticlimactic. But maybe that's better for everyone. This adventure was not some story to be read or some anime to be watched. This was real life. People die in real life. So in truth, anticlimactic was better. Kagome nodded at her reflection and walked downstairs. Now it was no time for brooding. It was time for celebration!

"Kagome how about you come to the diner for lunch? Your friends at school will be there so you might as well call them for homework."

"'Kay mom." Kagome slapped some pancakes on her plate and drizzled them with syrup. Kagome took a bite. _It has chocolate chips! _Kagome beamed at her mother, who smiled bewilderedly back at her daughter's cheerfulness. Kagome finished the rest of it quickly and called her friends. They agreed to bring the school assignments with them to the diner.

"Ready Kagome?" Called her mom as she searched her purse for car keys. Kagome slipped on her shoes and got into the car. They drove to the mall, which had a small shop tucked into the corner. It was dedicated to the traditional clothes such as what Kagome was looking for.

Kagome opened the door; it jingled lightly with the sound of bells, and was welcomed by a little old woman. Her face was covered with wrinkles, mainly around the eyes. The kind of wrinkles caused from years of laughter. Mrs. Higurashi sat down on a couch half occupied by a stranger with long red hair reading a book. Kagome couldn't see the person's face.

"So are you looking for a kimono young lady?" The old woman asked as she led her to where they were located.

"Yes. I need one for myself and one as a gift for my friend."

"What does this friend look like? Do you have her measurements?"

"She's a few centimeters taller than me. Her hair is a blackish brown. Anything else?"

"What kind of personality does she have?" The woman went from first to last in each line of kimonos.

"Strong and not very talkative. She usually shows her more feminine side when it's just me around. She's also in love with one of our other friends. He feels the same way but he's kind of a pervert."

"Hmm," the woman was looking at two different kimonos. She chose the right one.

"What do you think of this for your friend?" She held up a black and pink kimono. One sleeve was covered in delicate yet simple embroidered flowers.

"Perfect! She would look wonderful in it." The woman folded it for her and handed it to Kagome's mother. The woman stared at Kagome critically. She walked around the poor girl analyzing every detail.

"Lets see…blue…a dark cerulean…white…lots of it…maybe some green…"She trailed off. She went to a wrack and up another kimono.

"Try this one on." The woman pointed to a changing room. Kagome obliged her and entered the small stall. Another woman stepped out of the one next to it and brought the redhead's attention to herself.

" Shuichi, how do I look?" The woman spun around a bit, her brown hair fluttering. The kimono she wore was a pretty shade of light blue. The young man, as Mrs. Higurashi was now able to identify, lowered his book.

"Mother you look enchanting." He looked at her with a small smile.

" Oh son you're such a sweetheart." She said bashfully, "but I think you're right. I _am_ gorgeous. Your stepfather will be awfully jealous of all the men staring at me. But Shuichi that's the price we pay for looking so good." She sighed resignedly. Then cracked up.

"Shuichi didn't you say that the detective agency you're working for was having a costume party?" He nodded. "Well you could probably find that fighting outfit you wanted for it here…"She drifted off.

"That sounds good." He got up and started talking to the little old woman.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Kurama & Old Woman's Conversation

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Hello demon." Kurama spoke to break the ice. She stared at him with wide eyes.

"I-I haven't done anything wrong! I just make traditional wear that's all." She pleaded. "Oh I knew from the minute you walked in that you must be one of those spirit detectives. There has been talk of a red haired demonic human. Though I'm still confused with what that was supposed to mean…"

"Do not worry. I am not here to cause you any trouble. I was just wondering if you had any special fighting outfits available." He managed to calm her down. If the demoness had talked any louder his mother might have heard.

"Well if that's all," She smiled hesitantly, her friendly nature winning out, "I have some that you would probably approve of. Its good that most of them are masculine, depending on what you wear you could probably either look like a pretty girl or a handsome man." She chortled teasingly. Kurama glared politely at her as she led him to a back room.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

KAGOME (in the dressing room)

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Kagome felt as if she couldn't breathe. That conversation…she heard it all. The pleasant old woman…was a demon. And what about the rest of the things that were said? It was something about detectives and demonic humans. What was going on? This could not be good. Plus her mother was here. They could both be in danger from the young man! Maybe even the person he called mother. That lady spoke of his job as if she didn't know too much about it.

Wait a second! That boy could be just a demon in a human shell! She had said demonic human. It would be just like that one poor princess that Miroku met. A praying mantis demon had eaten her insides and… Kagome forced herself to stop thinking about it. It would be strange if she got sick in the dressing room.

"Kagome? Are you done yet?" Her mother called.

"Umm yeah I'll be right out!" Kagome schooled her features into an excited smile. She opened the door. Her mother squealed and twirled her daughter around.

"Kagome you look beautiful." The brown haired woman sighed at her.

"Oh Kagome this is Shiori," Her mother introduced, "apparently her son will be going to your school now since this strange school arrangement was made." Kagome felt like she was going to faint.

"Mom what school arrangement are you talking about?" She asked weakly. Shiori looked surprised.

"You don't know about it? But school started a little over a week ago!"

"My daughter's been very ill lately. But since this year she has gotten better. In fact that's why I'm shopping here with her. She had almost died from pneumonia so some old friends from out of town to see her before she departed." Mrs. Higurashi paused to sniff, her eyes becoming watery.

Kagome tried not to stare at her mother in wonder. She was great at this disease thing. Why didn't she ask her mother to do this last year? Grandpa kept giving her things like a life threatening case of athlete's foot. She had never been more embarrassed in her life. Especially when Hojo offered to rub medicinal frog grease on them. When a guy offers that you know he really likes you. Kagome felt bad sometimes that she didn't like him that way. Maybe she should hook him up with one of her friends?

" Luckily," Mrs. Higurashi continued, "She pulled through. So Kagome and her friends will be getting together to celebrate tomorrow." Shiori was sympathetic.

"Poor dear I know how you must of felt. I was in the same condition not to long ago. It's horrible to see your friends and family cry over you. I'm sorry Shuichi had to go through that experience. It was really tough on him." She frowned momentarily. "One strange thing I haven't forgotten though, besides my miraculous recovery. When he spoke to me on what was supposed to be my death bed, it seemed like he was leaving me more than I was leaving him." She shrugged. "It could just be a strange feeling brought by the illness."

"Mother?" Called the light voice from across the room. Shiori looked past them.

"You look so handsome Shuichi!" She ran over to him. Kagome manage to get a peek. His outfit was mainly black, but it was outlined in silver bands.

Their eyes met. Kagome felt her face starting to heat, so she glared at him. _Remember Kagome, no matter how handsome he is, he could still be a danger._ Shuichi looked away in surprise. He wondered if he had offended her in some way.

Mrs. Higurashi and Mrs. Minamino both started talking about their children. Kagome paid them no attention and went back into the dressing room.

"Kagome how about you go and buy some ice cream? Shiori and her son will be joining us today. I want to finish making these purchases."

"Shuichi can you help Kagome?" Mrs. Minamino took his outfit.

"Yes." He followed Kagome out. They walked a small ways out into the mall. Kurama wondered if she knew where she was going. The ice cream shop was at a left turn, not right. He watched her purposely walk towards the girl's bathroom. Oh.

Kurama stood outside a bit to wait for her. Apparently though she wanted him to wait inside, because she roughly pulled him in. And locked the door. And aimed pepper spray at him. This was **not** good.

"Okay demon boy, what's your business here?" Kagome demanded.

"Miss, may I remind you that you forced me in here?" He said calmly. Maybe he could steer her away from this 'demon' business. Hopefully she's just paranoid.

"You know what I mean!" She glared. He was impressed.

"Kagome," He said as he rolled the pepper spray bottle in his hand. She gawked at him. She hadn't seen his hand move. "If I was a threat, no one is this mall would be alive." _Well that's minor exaggeration. Some would run away during the entire ruckus. But that's an unimportant detail…_

"But, I'm not a danger to anyone. That is unless they're trying to attack the defenseless. That's what a spirit detective does, they protect the human world." Kurama stared her down.

" My question for you know, is how did you know I was supernatural?"

"You're not a demon?" Kagome asked confused.

"Technically no. It's complicated. Now answer the question." He said firmly.

" I overheard you and the old woman from the shop talking." Kagome looked at her feet.

"Why did you believe it? Most would just brush it off." Kurama could feel his curiosity killing him now.

"I have…met demons before." Kurama lifted her head to look at him. He opened his mouth just as someone knocked desperately on the bathroom door.

"The bathroom is out of order!" Kagome yelled. Both of them heard an aggravated whine come from the person outside.

"Will it be fixed soon?" The person called.

"Sorry Ma'am. It will take a half hour." Kagome snickered. "Can you wait that long?" There was a groan and the sound of someone running off.

They broke out in laughter and had to lean on the other to keep from falling over.

"Hehe, we'll have to continue this later. I would rather not have anyone else discover us in here, especially our mothers."

Kagome peeked through the doorway to make sure no one was paying attention. The coast was clear. Kagome pushed Kurama out. He stumbled and looked behind only to see her running off towards the ice cream shop. Kurama smiled and ran after her.


	2. Rose By Any Other Name

Kagome and Kurama hurried over to the ice cream shop. Kagome got chocolate ice cream on a cone and Kurama had the same thing in a cup. They went to stand in an empty corner. That way they could watch out for their mothers.

"So how did you learn about demons?" Kurama asked, stirring the ice cream idly.

" Well, it's complicated." Kagome smiled from behind her cone. A breeze flew by.

"Yes it would be interesting to know how you learned of demons." Both of them looked over to see a strange guy with spiky black hair.

"Hello Hiei." Kurama sighed and gave up his ice cream. Hiei would have taken it sooner or later anyways. Said person smirked.

"So you're a demon too? What kind?" Kagome licked her ice cream.

"Fire apparition."

"What's an apparition?"

"Idiot." Hiei shook his head sadly. "I had hoped you were a bit smarter than Kuwabara."

"Hiei…" Kurama trailed off warningly. Hiei vanished. "Don't mind him Kagome. He's always like that. But that Kuwabara comment _was_ crueler than usual."

"So what's an apparition?" Kagome asked again.

"You could say it is an elemental demon." She nodded in understanding.

"Oh our moms are coming!" She waved them over.

"It would be best if we kept this conversation to ourselves." Kurama whispered quickly to her. Mrs. Higurashi and Mrs. Minamino made it over to them with a few more bags than needed for two kimonos and a fighting outfit.

"Did you do some extra shopping?" Kagome asked slyly. The mothers looked a bit guilty.

"Do you two want me to get you something?" Kurama cut in, referring to the ice cream parlor.

"I'll have a vanilla milkshake." Said Mrs. Higurashi.

"I'll have the same, but strawberry." Mrs. Minamino handed her son a five-dollar bill. Kurama walked away.

"So Kagome…what do you think of my son?" Mrs. Minamino asked. Mrs. Higurashi nudged her daughter.

"He seems to be quite the charmer, eh?" Her mom put in. _Are they trying to-?_

"Here you go." Kurama appeared. He handed the mischievous mothers their milkshakes. He stood there naively and didn't catch the wink his mom gave Kagome. _Oh gods they are! And_ _he doesn't realize what's going on!_

"Do you want to come with us to the diner?" Mrs. Higurashi offered.

"Sorry I can't. I have some things I need to take care of at home. But Shuichi is free today, he can go." Mrs. Minamino volunteered for him. Kurama was almost glad he actually didn't have anything to do. (It would be really bothersome to say he did have something to do after his mother said he didn't) Underline almost. The fact was it seemed like the older women were up to something. He would have to stay alert.

"Well, bye!" Mrs. Minamino walked away suddenly.

"Okay lets go." Mrs. Higurashi led them outside the mall and into the car. She shoved both of them into the back. She drove for a while and the car was filled with an awkward silence. That was to be expected since Mrs. Higurashi was carrying the air of innocent indifference that she usually had, Kagome was paranoid and ready to scream Kurama's secret, and Kurama was suspicious that something was going on.

"Okay I admit it! Shuichi is some sort of demon thing!" Kagome burst. Kurama visibly blanched.

"That's nice dear. Do you know what kind he is?" Her mother inquired.

"Hmm I must have forgotten to ask. What kind are you sort of are?" Kagome turned towards him.

"So he's a half demon like Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi asked curiously. "You wouldn't happen to have ears on top of your head would you?"

"Or maybe a tail like Shippo?" Kagome said excitedly. That tail was so adorable. "So what kind are you?"

"I'm a fox." Kurama said warily. He thought Yusuke was pretty accepting of demons, but this was mad.

"Fox? Really? Wow! Shippo is a fox demon also. I wish there was a way for you two to meet. He would be so excited." Kagome sighed.

"I didn't know demons still existed these days." Mrs. Higurashi thought aloud.

"Yeah I didn't know either. The closest thing we have had of one was the Noh mask. I don't think that technically counts as a demon." Kagome said thoughtfully.

"What was the Noh mask?" Kurama asked.

"Well a long time ago, according to Grandpa, my ancestors sealed away an evil mask. The mask would take over humans and use their bodies as its own. The problem was that the bodies would melt into a weird brownish purple goop. It was gross." Kagome made a face at the memory.

"Anyways it was somehow awakened and came out of its box. Grandpa went outside to see what the noise was. The mask ended up knocking over Grandpa's lantern, setting fire to the shed. The firemen came before he could get seriously hurt. I went to my bedroom and the Noh mask came after me. It was after something I had. The thing broke through my window! Sota came and I told him to get Inuyasha's help. I ran away as far as I could. I ended up at a building construction sight. And basically Inuyasha showed up, destroyed the mask, and dropped us off home." Kagome informed him.

"I think Koenma, my boss, mentioning once something of the sort. He sent Hiei to detain or annihilate whatever it was, but nothing was left by the time he got there. Koenma might be interested in what you have to say about it. Do you remember what the mask was after?" Kurama asked. Kagome paused considering. Could she really trust him with that information?

"…No I don't." She finally said. It seemed as if Kurama was about to say something but then thought better of it.

"Oh we're here!" Mrs. Higurashi announced. Kurama saw what was a pretty standard sized diner. Business was starting to pick up so one of the waiters was setting up makeshift tables outside. The building was made of normal white concrete with a flat rooftop. Above the door was a simple sign displaying the words 'Michi-Shirube'. Kurama heard Kagome giggle and couldn't help cracking a grin himself.

They entered Michi-Shirube, or in English 'Signpost', and Mrs. Higurashi hurried to the kitchen barely waving back at them.

"She's a cook here." Kagome explained. In one of the corners Kagome's friends excitably hailed her. She walked over there and Kurama tagged behind.

"Kagome!" Yuki squealed. "When were you going to tell us you were dating Shuichi!" They all glared indignantly at her.

"Poor Hojo doesn't have a chance." Ayumi sighed sadly for him.

"Guys, guys you got it all wrong! We're just friends. Besides we barely know each other. We met only this morning for gods sake!" Kagome protested.

"Love at first sight." Eri said smugly.

"Man Kagome you're so lucky. You have the most handsome, smartest, and charming boyfriend in the whole school!" Ayumi said.

"Probably the whole world!" grumbled Yuki. Kurama felt very left out in the conversation. He left to get Kagome and himself a soda. By the time he came back they were still talking about it.

Kagome scooted over on the bench so he could sit down. He handed her the soda. She nodded her thanks and turned back to her friends.

"And what does you're two timing boyfriend say about this? Did you break up with him or are you two-timing also? He probably deserves it though! I never cared for him much anyways. He was weird looking." Eri said.

"Yeah I mean his hair was dyed white. Come on!'' Yuki agreed. Kagome rolled her eyes and took a sip at her soda. She should probably put a stop to their rambling now. She was used to it, but Shuichi was most likely dying inside.

KAGOME'S DAYDREAMo.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Shuichi stood alone in a vast darkness. He blinked a few times, looking around wondering where he was. Whispers started to fill the silence. He caught a few words like 'two timing' and 'dyed white'.

Then the whispers became louder and louder until they were roaring.

"THE MOST HANDSOME, SMARTEST, AND CHARMING BOYFRIEND IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL!" Shuichi cringed.

"Could you please lower your voice a few decibels?" He asked politely.

"I NEVER CARED FOR HIM MUCH ANYWAYS!" Shuichi fell to the ground from the force.

"Please stop!" He pleaded searching for an exit in this dark abyss. There was none to be found. He tried crawling away anyhow. The voices seemed to follow.

"DYED WHITE!" This time FRIEND 3's head hovered above his.

"PROBABLY THE WHOLE WORLD!" FRIEND 1 appeared.

"POOR HOJO!" FRIEND 2's head shook sadly. They rotated around him. Never ceasing. Never stopping.

"NO!" He screamed from his fetal position. It echoed out in the void…

BACK AT THE TABLEo.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Kagome giggled. Kurama gave her a funny look.

"What's so funny Kagome?" Her friends asked also confused. Kagome looked up from the table to see them all staring at her.

"Err…nothing. Hey do you have my school work?" She asked changing the subject. Kurama raised a brow at her, causing Kagome to blush. She couldn't tell them that her friends were killing Shuichi…

"Here you go." They handed her three worksheets. She sighed in relief. That wasn't too bad.

"Oh and lets not forget the math stuff." They gave her a small stack. She guessed it was about a dozen pages. Front and back. Kagome groaned and sank down in her seat.

"That's what happens when you are out sick so often. Poor you having to do all this work in your delicate condition. We asked coach if on the days you made it to school you could do make up work instead of going to P.E. He said it was all right with him. Coach also said to drink lots of fluids." Yuki tried to sooth her. It helped a little bit.

They all sat there for a while discussing various things. Shuichi even participated in a few of the conversations. One of her friends glanced at her watch.

"Oh my I better get home. I have to baby-sit tonight." Ayumi looked up at them. "Bye everyone. See you at school!" She stood up.

"We should probably get going too. Got a few things to wrap up." Eri said. The Yuki nodded in agreement. They all left.

"Bye Guys!" Kagome waved. She sat down and sighed. "Whew. Don't get me wrong, I love them all, but sometimes they can wear me down in all the boy talk."

"At least you don't have to deal with Kuwabara and Yusuke always trying to start a fight with one another." Kurama chuckled.

"But I do have to listen to Koga and Inuyasha bickering whenever Koga stops by. And then fighting usually breaks out when Koga declares me 'his woman'." Kagome formed quotation marks with her fingers.

"Hey Kurama, did you get yourself a girlfriend?" You could hear the smirk in the voice. Both of them looked up to see a boy their age in green with slicked back dark hair.

"Hello Yusuke." Kurama glanced uneasily at Kagome.

"Kur-" Kagome started.

"You had a girlfriend Kurama?" Another boy with a strange almost Elvis like hairdo walked around Yusuke. Unlike the other two males, he was very…unattractive.

Kurama was now making subtle death signs to them.

"Why are they calling you Kurama?" Kagome asked. Kurama gave up. She already knew about demons, so it probably wouldn't hurt. Besides she might be more willing to give out information if he was willing too.

"In my…past life I was a fox demon. I was or am Yoko Kurama, a thief, and had died because of one of my escapades. With the last of my strength I transported my soul into the body of an unborn human child. I still have plenty of my demonic powers. I have even been able to change into my old form." He spilled. It bothered him a little to tell this to an almost complete stranger. But since everyone else in his group knew about it, it would be better to keep her in the loop.

Kagome opened her mouth then closed it. Then opened it again. "Well that wasn't so complicated." The guys all fell over.

"I guess not." Kurama said weakly and climbed back into the seat.

"Can I call you Kurama, or would you still prefer Shuichi?" Kagome asked.

"Kurama is fine," He allowed. "But in public areas I would like to be called Shuichi." He gave the boys a look.

"Sorry 'bout that." Yusuke scratched the back of his head. "So who's your girlfriend?"

"This is my **friend **Kagome." _Why does everyone insist we're together?_ "I met her and her mother at the mall today. Apparently she knows about demons and goes to our school. She's also in the same grade as we are."

"But I haven't seen you around." The orange haired guy said.

"I haven't been to school lately." Kagome said nervously. Despite her new information on Kurama she felt a bit uncertain on telling these guys why she missed school. Who knows what would happen if the truth came out?

"You must be the girl they said was out sick all the time." The boys both sat across the two. "Funny, you look pretty healthy to me." Yusuke leaned forward inspecting Kagome. She felt like a kid whose hands were caught in the cookie jar.

"You have been at school long enough yourself to find out?" Kurama asked slyly. Yusuke looked put out.

"Not really. Keiko told me. Then she found out I skipped again and walloped me with that evil school bag of hers." He touched the lump on his head and winced. "I still think she hits harder than any demon I've ever fought." He added. Kagome smiled. Maybe he wasn't so bad. She would have to make friends with this 'Keiko'.

"You're such a wimp Urameshi." Said the orange haired guy.

"Ah shut up Kuwabara." Yusuke shoved him of the seat.

"Do you want a fight?" Kuwabara challenged.

"Bring it on! I've beat you so many times I'll have to start making the tally marks smaller so they'll all fit in my apartment."

Kurama began to push them outside the diner.

"Are you coming Kagome?" He asked.

"Yeah. Let me tell my mom." Kurama nodded and continued herding them outside.

A few moments later she found them in an alley nearby. The boys were duking it out so she decided to leave them alone. Kurama was reading a collection of Shakespeare stories. Kagome copied the way he was sitting, which was against the building with legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. She leaned over towards him to see what story he was reading. She read out loud the line that jumped at her.

"A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet." She laughed. "Shuichi and Kurama."

"Oh the irony." He smiled at her. Kagome backed up a little noticing how close they were. She gulped and changed the subject as a way to fight her discomfort.

"Will they stop any time soon?" It was almost irritating how they acted like Inuyasha and Koga. At least they weren't fighting over **her**. That was one relief.

"Ten, nine, eight," Kurama counted down. She looked at him curiously. "Two, one." He looked up. Yusuke stood victoriously on Kuwabara's corpse.

"You killed him!" Kagome cried. She stood up.

"Naw, he's still alive. He's just so ugly he looks like he's a dead body." Yusuke stepped off Kuwabara only to turn around and kick him,

"Mmf bwumfurr muff mhut bwacht." Kuwabara yelled face down in the dirt.

"See he's all good. He just said 'you better take that back'." Yusuke told her reassuringly.

"How did you understand that?" She asked bewildered.

"He's fluent in Neanderthal. It makes it easier for him to understand Kuwabara." Kurama said storing his book away in his shirt. Everyone gaped in disbelief. Yusuke laughed.

"I guess Hiei has rubbed off on you." Yusuke smacked the now standing Kuwabara on the back, as to help him get the dirt out of his lungs.

"So what are we going to do now?" Kuwabara cleared his throat.

"I should probably get started on my school work…" Kagome felt stressed just thinking about it.

"Aw you'll have enough time to do it later. Plus school's not that important anyways." Yusuke assured her.

"Says the one who got a twelve on a major test." A girl with light blue hair walked up to them. "Guys we have some detective work to do." She said carefully noticing Kagome.

"Botan, she already knows about demons." Yusuke told her.

"Really? Is she Kurama's girlfriend?" Botan asked cattishly.

"No!" Said the exasperated couple.

"Okay." She grinned with the same feline look.

"The mission Botan?" Yusuke said. She turned to him.

"Oh yes that. We'll meet Hiei in Spirit world." Botan reached up into the air and an oar materialized in her hands. She made a circular motion with it, and a seven-foot high portal was created. Botan jumped through it.

"Spirit world?" Kagome questioned Kurama in a whisper. Yusuke overheard.

"You'll see." He pushed her through the portal.

Kagome suddenly found herself in a busy workroom. Strange, and somewhat goofy looking, demons in loin clothes scurried around as if a fire was lit under them.

"Hurry, get the case files! Koenma needs them pronto!" A blue ogre yelled. A green one went through a door and seconds later came out with what was requested.

"We don't get paid enough for this, George." The green one puffed.

"We got paid?" George asked. The green one patted George sympathetically on the back. George walked through another set of doors muttering something about bosses. Botan followed him.

"Lets go Kagome." Kurama urged her on.

"Where are we going now?"

"We are to see Koenma, ruler of Spirit world." Kagome felt her nerves fray. She was going to meet someone important. What would he be like? Kagome had visions of a gigantic man. He had a black beard and a booming voice. He would be the kind of man that could bring down worlds if brought in a rage. Her legs suddenly felt as if lead had been poured into them. She hoped her nervousness wasn't too obvious.

Kagome stopped almost bumping into Kuwabara. She backed up nervously to stand behind Kurama. Yusuke winked back at them, to which Kurama answered with an amused smile. She looked back and forth between them wondering what they both seemed to be thinking.

Before them was an office desk and a high backed swivel chair. The chair slowly turned around.

"A toddler?" Kagome blinked. "A…toddler…" She tried to process the information. "You know," She laughed wryly, "I am more shocked at my lack of surprise than anything else." Kagome paused. Then squealed, "You are so cute!"

She ran up to the ruler of Spirit world and, frankly, she 'glomped' him. Poor Koenma sputtered and suffered through the indignation of having Kagome talk to him as if he were a simple baby.

"Botan!" Koenma cried in desperation. Said girl opened the door to his office.

"Yes Koenma sir?" She saw how he was being tormented. Botan callously laughed at him. Yusuke joined in seconds later.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." This was heard over all the commotion. Kagome saw Hiei glare pointedly at poor Kuwabara. Kagome wondered what the unmistakable looks of hostility were about between those two.

"Ahem. Since everyone is now here, including a very friendly guest of unknown origins," Koenma hinted. Nudging or coughing could not have made his want of explanation any clearer. "We shall discuss business. Lately there has been a growing number of demons in this city."

"Is that all? Hiei can take care of that. Usually that's who you assign to do these kinds of things." Yusuke placed his hands behind his head, which was the pose he normally took.

"Well yes Yusuke, but that's when the demons are here illegally. But the few that are here with special permission to stay in the Human world are gathering here. I had questioned one that was a personal friend of my father's. When I asked him why he came here he reacted most peculiarly." Koenma's gaze seemed to haze over with the memory. "His eyes grew smaller and he began to shake all over. When he spoke, it was as if he had to fight back some irrational and controlling fear. He told me '**_He_**_ is coming. This place…safest. **Purity** shall hold **him** back. But for how long?'_" Koenma quoted.

"My father's friend happened to a prophet of sorts. He didn't have clear visions or prophecies. What he had were more like small hints." Koenma was suddenly more serious than before. "When he said that, his words seemed to be a mixture of 'hint' and base demon instinct."

"Does this have anything to do with all the students being transferred to one school?" When Kurama spoke, it broke the strange spell that had hung over everyone.

"I believe it does. Most of the demons have centered near a Shinto shrine in that area. For some reason they feel safer there. It seems as if the need to be near this shrine has spread to the humans. That would explain why they had this strange school set up."

"What's the shrine called? Maybe we should pay it a visit." Kuwabara suggested.

"I think it was Higashi. No, that's not it. Maybe Hitorigashi? No. That's not it either."

"Higurashi?" Kagome peeped.

"Yes that's it! Do you visit there often?" Koenma turned to her.

"I live there." She said tentatively. The ruler's blank face never gave away anything.

"I see. Then would you happen to know what the hint I said earlier meant?"

" No, but it seems like something here is holding someone back" She glanced at Kurama for help.

"It seems that something at the shrine could have the 'purity' it said in the hint. The place _is_ a shrine after all." Kurama obliged her. Koenma nodded thoughtfully.

"So Ms. Higurashi," Koenma began.

"Just Kagome please."

"Kagome, would you happen to have any objects at the shrine of magical history? Or unknown origin perhaps?"

"I don't think so, I'll have to ask Grandpa. He knows everything about the shrine."

"You do that. Make sure you keep in contact with the spirit detectives. What's dangerous to demons can be dangerous to humans. You'll be helping everyone out." Koenma sifted through the files on his desk. He groaned when he saw that most of it was paperwork.

"Okay I'll be moving all of you I can into the same classes. It will be easier to do that with Kurama and Kagome." Koenma said.

"Whys that?" Yusuke asked.

"Because they actually _do_ their work, which allows them to get to higher classes." The young ruler glared at Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Of course," he said with a slyness that was odd to see on a toddler, "If I have Botan have a little chat with your friend Keiko…"

"Eh, no need to do that Koenma." Yusuke laughed uneasily.

"Hiei, you'll patrol the school a few times every day. Then keep a sharp eye on who enters and exits the shrine." Hiei nodded at the command. "Okay that's pretty much it. We don't have much information on what's going on. So If I find something I'll send Botan." Koenma shooed them out of his office.

"How about I drop you guys of at the shrine? Take a look around before going home for the night." Botan's oar materialized again. She made a portal.

"Oh Kagome, take this." Botan tossed her a compact. Kagome sent her a weird look. "Its actually a communication device. Yusuke has one and so do I. If you need to contact us just use it." Kagome made an 'o'. Waving goodbye, the group jumped through the portal.

Kagome had barely touched the ground when she felt herself lifted into the air. Inuyasha leapt several feet away and pushed her behind him. He sniffed the air.

"Kagome what the _hell_ were you doing with a fire demon, two strange feelin' humans, and" He paused to sniff again only to look more confused. "And whatever the hell he is over there." He pointed a transformed Tetsusaiga at the red head.

"Are they trying to hurt you?" Inuyasha demanded.

"No Inuyasha they're my friends!" Kagome pushed his sword down.

"Why is this the first time I've heard of this? Besides this is the first time I've felt a demon in this era!" Inuyasha demanded.

"I couldn't tell you tell you about them because I just met them today!" Kagome said. Both their voices were slowing getting louder.

"How can you trust them after knowing them for only a day! I really wonder sometimes how you've survived this long. And how would you know if they're actually just after the Shikon shards?" He yelled.

"Shikon shards?" Yusuke asked. All the spirit detectives had eyebrows raised. Kagome felt her face flush.

"Sit boy!" Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha fell hard to the ground. "Are you just plain stupid or what! They didn't know about the shards until you opened your big mouth!" Kagome's hands were clenched into fists.

"How about we talk about this somewhere else?" Kurama suggested warily, careful not to invoke the sixteen-year-old girl's wrath upon himself. Kagome nodded sharply and went inside her house.

After everyone settled himself or herself down, Yusuke decided to take matters into hand. He stood in the middle of the Higurashi living room.

"Okay this is how everything is going down. Kagome, you'll tell us what's going on with you." He began.

"Why should she?" Inuyasha challenged standing up. One warning glare from Kagome had him sitting back down.

"And we'll tell you what's going on with us. That way we can avoid future problems."

"Wow Yusuke I'm impressed." Kurama said amazed.

"Well I'm not a total moron like Kuwabara…" He said bashfully. Hiei dipped his head in agreement.

"Hey-!" Kuwabara started. Kurama patted his friend sadly on the back. Kuwabara stopped and fumed silently.

"So who's going first?" Kurama said. Both parties exchanged looks.

"I guess I'll start." Kagome sighed. "It all began on my fifteenth birthday. Sota came to me saying Buyo had went into the well house…" She told them about how she was pulled down the well by Mistress Centipede. How she released Inuyasha from the tree and how she met Shippo, Miroku, and Sango. Kagome told them all about their adventures, her arms waving dramatically at certain points. She even told them about Kikyo. Inuyasha seemed a bit surprised, but remained quiet about it. He only spoke up every now and then. Or to calm Kagome down when she tried demonstrating with Tetsusaiga how he slashed off transformed Sesshomaru's foreleg.

The spirit detectives watched her closely. They were caught up in the whole story. She had gone through a lot. When Kagome finished there was a moment of silence.

"My day had started pretty much like any other, getting nagged by Keiko, skipping school, fighting with Kuwabara…except that day I died…" Yusuke began. Inuyasha snorted, which caused Kagome give him a light shove. Yusuke went on to explain how he came back to life and how the others became spirit detectives. Kagome still had trouble believing that Kurama had been a criminal.Yusuke finished the tale and sat down. It was starting to darken outside.

"Damn it!" Yusuke jumped right back up. "I almost forgot about my date with Keiko. Got to go!" There was a strong breeze and a slamming of a door. Kagome blinked.

"I better start heading home. The last time I was late for supper Shizuru knocked me out." He also ran away.

"I guess its just time for everyone to leave." Kurama stood up and looked at Kagome. "I'll see you at school." He and Hiei left. Kagome waved at them.

"Kaede said the festival will begin soon." Inuyasha got up and grumbled. "Stupid hag is forcing me to cut down trees and make tables." He waved back at Kagome and also left. Kagome waited until she was sure he had gone into the feudal era. She broke out in laughter.

o.0.o.0.o.0 BLOOPERSo.0.o.0.o.0

They entered Michi-Shirube, or in English 'Signpost', and Mrs. Higurashi hurried to the kitchen barely waving back at them.

"She's a cook here." Kagome explained. In one of the corners Kagome's friends excitably hailed her. She walked over there and Kurama tagged behind.

"Kagome!"Yuki squealed. "When were you going to tell us you were dating Shuichi!"

"Now you all know, the bard's and their songs!" Shuichi broke out into song. He leapt up onto the table. "When hours have gone by I'll close my eyes. In a world far away we may meet again…"

Kagome's friends stared in amazement. Shuichi continued to sing the song. A girl in the back fainted.

"Tomorrow will take us away far from home. No one will ever know our nam-"

"CUT CUT!" Senko Ryu screamed. "Kurama, what have I told you about singing in the middle of a scene?" She demanded.

"Don't?" He said meekly.

"Exactly." She huffed. Senko cuffed him on the head. "I would beat you with a stick or something but then I would have angry fan boys and girls after me. I can take them down easily, but they have power in there numbers." She sighed. For a second Kagome thought she heard Kurama murmur something like 'I know' but excused it as overactive imagination.

"Anyways I want you girls," Senko pointed at Kagome's school friends, "To act more surprised and indignant. Okay people!" She clapped her hands. " Take it away at when they approach the table!"


	3. Thus The Plot Thickens

Kagome sighed and stared at her math homework. The numbers seemed to swirl around on the page. She had a feeling they were laughing at her. _Stupid math problems…_

"Hey Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi opened the door to Kagome's room. Kagome turned, happy for the distraction. Mrs. Higurashi handed her the kimonos. "I figured you would need these." She grinned at her daughter. "Are you going to change in the feudal era?"

"Yeah I guess. But what about the extra food I was going to bring?" Kagome asked. She had forgotten to take it over…

"Inuyasha came over before you woke up today and I gave it all to him." Her mother said. Kagome sighed in relief.

"I guess I'll see you later mom." Kagome got her yellow backpack out and put stuff in their for an overnight trip. She slung it on her back and gave Mrs. Higurashi a one armed hug.

Outside the sun was almost setting. It was nice, but she couldn't wait to see what it looked like five hundred years ago. She hopped into the well and experienced the strange blue lights flickering like a ghostly flame around her. Kagome's feet gently touched ground. She climbed up the vines on the inside of the well.

Kagome was wondering where Inuyasha was, since he usually greeted her here, but heard a large creak and something crashing. Running ahead she saw a tree fallen. Inuyasha stood nearby with a bored expression on his face.

"Inuyasha!" She called. He looked at her, his mood lightening. "Still cutting down trees?"

"Kaede an' the villagers decided they wanted a bonfire." He rolled his eyes and she laughed. "This is goin' to be the last tree. I ain't cuttin' one more down for those lazy bastards." Inuyasha grunted and picked up the tree. He said over his shoulder. "Oh, Sango is waiting for you at Kaede's hut." With that he was off.

Kagome smiled at the image. Inuyasha, so strong and proud, walking towards the sunset. She blushed. _I really do need to stop all this daydreaming._ Kagome found her bike near the well and rode to Kaede's hut. Sango was their glaring at Miroku who seemed to be trying to make some excuse. Kagome could see that Sango wasn't buying it.

"Sango I have our kimonos!" She brought Sango's attention to herself. They went into the hut to change, but not before Sango knocked out Miroku when he tried to follow. They slipped on the kimonos and helped one another with their obis. Kagome went through her bag and brought out a ribbon.

"What's that for Kagome?" Sango asked.

"Its for Kirara." Kagome smiled when she saw the two-tailed cat walk in the hut.

"Come here Kirara." Called Sango. The cat jumped into her arms. Kagome tied the black and cream swirl ribbon on her.

"Mew." Kirara commented.

"Cute!" They squealed. Kirara waited patiently for them to stop cooing over her. One of the village women walked in.

"Lady Kagome, Lady Sango the festivities are beginning." She bowed and walked back out. The two friends did some last minute adjustments to their clothes, knowing full well that it would just get wrinkled later on. They exited and Kagome got a good look at the village.

In the center was a large bonfire that provided most of the light as night approached quickly. Small torches littered the place randomly. A few were still being lit by some of the children. Kagome was wondering what seemed so strange about this all when she did a double take on the fire. It was blue. Kagome grinned. Shippo must have used foxfire. He probably had some way of making it burn slower, or the villagers could just like blue fire. She wasn't sure which.

Kagome saw tables a to the right of the bonfire that were filled with food. The food from her time seemed to be very popular. To the left of the fire was an old man surrounded by children. She guessed by the way he was moving his hands dramatically that he was telling stories. In a way he reminded Kagome of Grandpa, except this guy could keep an interested audience.

She wondered with some embarrassment if she had acted like Grandpa when telling the spirit detectives her story. Kagome really hoped not since Kurama had been there. She didn't stop to think of why that was so important.

Kagome followed Sango over to the food tables. Kagome was unsure why she was glaring in that direction. That is, until she saw a group of giggling young woman surrounding one monk with a purple wardrobe. They seemed to have let go their usual caution in light of the gay atmosphere.

"Hello monk." Sango whipped the words out as if it were possible for them to cause physical damage. Miroku flinched in a way that would make you believe they did.

"It's a beautiful night." He commented casually-to the untrained eye. But Kagome could tell he was wary of the angry woman before him. " But it is nothing to the dark drowning depths of your eyes that captures the unsuspecting mortal man's heart. They are forever doomed to worship you but would rather have that fate than to never catch sight of the celestial splendor you wield so effortlessly." Miroku grasped the blushing demon exterminator's hands.

He was looking at Sango earnestly, meaning every word he said. Kagome decided it would be good if she escorted herself and the surrounding women out of the immediate area. She walked past Miroku, gave him a warning poke in the side (She hoped he got that touching any lower than Sango's shoulder's would be a big no no.), and ushered people away.

The rest of Kagome's night was a whirlwind of dancing flames and smiling faces. She spent some time with everyone and Inuyasha even joined the group. That is, after he stopped pouting about the forced labor Kaede put him through. In whole, it was quite pleasant, and did wonders on her mood.

The next morning she woke with a smile on her face. She stretched herself out and felt her back pop. She winced at the painful feeling but was rewarded with loose muscles. Kagome exited Kaede's hut to see the old woman cooking by a fire not far from where she was.

"Ah Kagome, ye have awoken." The old woman smiled at her. Kagome smiled back and joined her at the fire. It was a bit crisp this morning. Kagome took a minute to think about Kaede. She wondered why the woman talked as she did. Kagome hadn't found one other person in this era that spoke that way. It was peculiar. _How odd,_ Kagome thought.

"Good morning Lady Kagome." Miroku walked up with Sango trailing behind.

"Morning Kagome." Sango said right after the monk. They both seemed to be in just as good of a mood as Kagome. If not better. Kagome grinned inwardly.

"Did you have a nice night?" Kagome asked. Sango blushed. Kagome's inward grin was now mirrored outward on her face

"Breakfast is ready." Everyone crowded around the woman. Kagome turned around with her steaming breakfast stew to see Shippo riding on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"When did you get here?" Kagome asked a little surprised. She hadn't heard him coming.

"I've been here since you came out of the hut…" Inuyasha said slowly, as if speaking to a small child. His eyes narrowed. "You were thinking about that weird redhead weren't you?" He accused. Kagome blinked.

"Why would I be thinking about Kurama?" Kagome asked. What was Inuyasha getting at?

"Oh don't think I didn't see those looks you two were trading! He rarely ever took his eyes off you the whole time!"

"Maybe because I was practically the only person who talked. Its polite to look at someone when they're talking to you." She argued back.

"Whose this Kurama?" Miroku stepped in. He didn't want those two's squabbles to ruin his and Sango's good mood. He had been standing right next to her and so far she hadn't given him suspicious glares. Sango must be giving him a chance because of his good behavior during the festival. Now he only had to keep control of those treacherous hands…

"Kurama's a friend in my time." Kagome told him.

"Sure, just a _friend_. Next thing ya know he'll be claiming you as his woman like Koga." Inuyasha said.

"Did somebody say my name?" A whirlwind dissipated next to Kagome.

"Hey Koga." Kagome smiled.

"Hey Kagome." He blushed and looked away. He saw Inuyasha. "Hey you lousy mutt! Why didn't you tell me you were going to fight Naraku? Maybe I should take revenge for my comrades on your dead ass." He bellowed.

"Not before I slice you in half with Tetsusaiga!" Inuyasha drew his sword.

"Sit boy." Kagome sighed. She looked over at Koga who was pointing and laughing at the poor half demon. "Koga, Naraku attacked without any forewarning. We wouldn't have had enough time to send anyone to get you. Everyone was needed in the fight." Koga looked saddened, but seemed to take it a lot better than she thought he would.

"Well I guess it couldn't be helped." He spoke. Ginta and Hakkaku ran up to Koga's side, only to plop down in exhaustion.

"Jeez Koga, couldn't you just slow down for once." Ginta huffed.

"I think I dislocated something in my leg." Hakkaku whined.

"How the hell did you do that?" Koga stared bewildered.

"I don't know!"

"Here let me try something…" Ginta grabbed Hakkaku's leg, causing him to fall over. Then there was a loud popping noise accompanied by a howl.

"OOOOOOWWWW!"

"How does it feel now?" Ginta asked.

"…"

"Well?" Everyone was slightly unnerved by the silence.

"…If you weren't my pack brother, I would kill you…" Everyone stared at the usually mellow Hakkaku, sweat drops forming on the side of their heads.

"Breakfast guys?" Kagome suggested meekly.

"Sure!" Hakkaku's beaming rivaled that of the sun. Everyone fell over.

"Talk about forgive and forget." Kagome heard Shippo murmur. Kagome smothered a giggle. Everyone ate and talked (a.k.a. argued).

"Well, well, doesn't everyone look joyful? How was the celebration last night? I do hope it was wonderful." A mature feminine voice drawled. Inuyasha and Koga jumped in front of the group snarling. Miroku and Sango moved also but much slower, almost like anything too sudden from them could have a fight break out.

"What the hell are you doing here Kagura? Do you want revenge for Naraku?" Inuyasha growled, his sword ready in hand.

"I will avenge my comrades!" Koga cried. Kanna walked to Kagura's side, prepared to come to her defense.

" Be a good boy and go back to your master, half demon. I didn't come here to fight you or the wolf." She sneered. This elicited a snarl from Inuyasha. Quickly Kagura composed herself and turned to Kagome.

"Aren't you the one who killed Naraku?"

"No, Sesshomaru did." Kagome said. Kagura looked curious.

"He did now? Interesting. Well I'm sure you were the one who dealt the major damage. Your arrows always did create some of his worst wounds." Kagura's smirk almost looked like a smile. "And since you did me a favor-,"

"We didn't do anything for you!" Inuyasha retorted. Kagura ignored him.

"I decided I should do you a favor."

"Why would you do that Kagura? It would have made no difference if you had just went about your way." Miroku asked, trying to calculate reasons for the 'friendly' behavior.

"Ah monk, but it would make a difference. With Naraku gone there is bound to be other demons, maybe even humans, that would try to fill his place." She said darkly. "Doing this would show my… willingness to cooperate with your group in the future. It would also keep you from suspecting me of trying to 'follow in father's footsteps'. Kanna and I have better things to do than to feud with you."

"I see. What is this favor you are offering, Kagura?" Miroku stepped in front of the two demonic males.

"It's about Kohaku." Sango tensed upon hearing the name. "I know his current whereabouts, and I believe I have found a way to keep the boy alive without the use of the shard." Kagura tapped her fan on her chin. It was one of the most relaxed gestures they've seen her use.

"How? Where is he!" Sango gasped. Kirara, who was transformed, watched the wind sorceress carefully.

"He's at the old demon slayer village." Kagura vaguely gestured in its direction with her open fan. "As for a remedy, that will be a bit more troublesome to find." Sango looked ready to throttle the information out of Kagura before Miroku laid a hand on her shoulder.

"No matter how troublesome, we wish to know all you can possibly tell us."

"You need to acquire a flawless pearl and have him swallow it."

"Well that won't be so hard." Inuyasha rested his sword on his shoulder.

"The pearl has to be blessed by a fairy." Kagura added.

"_That_ will be hard." Miroku frowned.

"Why is that?" Kagome asked.

"A fairy hasn't been seen in at least eighty years."

"Oh." Kagome winced. That wasn't good.

"We'll find one." The demon slayer said with fierce determination. The others hoped, for Sango's and her brother's sake, they would.

Kagome groaned and fell into her chair. School always came too soon. She heard a chuckle behind her.

"Tired Kagome?" It was Kurama.

"You would be too if he had kept you up all night." She grumbled, thinking about how Inuyasha kept insisting for them to leave to search for the fairy. Kagome was touched that he was eager to help. So she wasn't nearly as mad as she'd normally be. From both her sides came horrified gasps.

"Kagome!" Her friends shrieked.

"Not like that!" Kagome's face turned red. She really needed to take away her friend's more…racy mangas.

"Are you girls quite done?" The teacher popped up seemingly out of nowhere. Kagome sat down quickly, now resembling a tomato. They squeaked out 'Yessir'. He nodded and decided to let them off easy with just embarrassment. It was Monday after all.

"Today class we have a new student. His name is Robin Goodfellow…" The teacher squinted at the paper he was looking at. "…Or Puck?" He guessed with eyebrows raised.

"_Thou speak'st aright;_

_I am the merry wanderer of the night._

_I jest to Oberon and make him smile,_

_When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,_

_Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:_

_And sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl,_

_In very likeness of a roasted crab;_

_And when she drinks, against her lips I bob_

_And on her withered dewlap pour the ale._

_The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,_

_Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;_

_Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,_

_And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;_

_And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,_

_And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear_

_A merrier hour was never wasted there…"_ A young man walked through the doorway. His face serious, in a most comical way (despite his almost too sharp features), and his eyes were mysterious. He was about medium height with messy black hair. The teacher grinned.

"Ah, another Shakespeare fan. Aren't I lucky?" The teacher looked back at his paper. "So what shall we call you?"

"Puck will do, my good sir."

"Okay Puck, do you wish to tell the class a few things about yourself?"

"No." He said with all seriousness and finality. A wave of awkward silence came upon the class. Someone sneezed. The room darkened as a cloud passed over the sun. Puck broke out in uproarious laughter.

"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" He coughed a few times and calmed himself down. The class smiled weakly. "Sorry about that. Couldn't help it.

"Anyway, I'm just an everyday completely crazy goofball. It's in the genes." He gestured towards his jeans. "I come from England, thus the light British accent, and I don't know how long I'll get to stay here. But hopefully it will be forever since I have already fallen in love with every girl in here." He gave a playful wink, which seemed to be mainly directed at Ayumi. The other girls pouted.

"And I love chocolate cake, the color green, playing pranks, roasting marshmallows, stating the obvious, playing the kazoo, and reading Shakespeare. My hair is dark _brown_ with a _tinge_ of black because of a hair dyeing incident that occurred when I was a toddler. Yes, it _was_ indeed mortifying. My eyes are an absolutely gorgeous shade of warm melty chocolate that women (and sometimes men…no comments please) can stare into for hours on end. I have a nice tan even though I don't go out during day very often and abs of steel (without any time at the gym, isn't it grand?)."

"Maybe you should wrap this up." The teacher suggested oh so subtly.

"Alright. Just one word of warning. If anyone ever makes any bird or batman cracks about my first name I will personally rip your entrails out through your mouth and cackle maniacally before returning to my previous activity." He smiled warmly. The teacher sweat dropped.

"Err, thank you Puck. You can sit in that desk right there." The teacher pointed to a desk in the front. It made it less likely for a possible de-entrailing.

"Okay class we are going to work in groups for today." He waited patiently for the class cheering to calm and for Puck to stop his Irish jig. "I want groups of four, you've got three minutes to choose."

Kagome's friends huddled together and played Rock Paper Scissors. A cry of despair emerged from two of them. Ayumi walked over to Puck's group and joined. Yuki and Eri walked over to Kagome.

"Who's going to be the fourth person now?" Kagome asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Shuichi of course." Yuki answered. Said boy smiled weakly in exasperation. Kagome looked sympathetic. Eri and Yuki giggled as Shuichi took a desk closer to them.

"Will this be quick and painless?" Kurama whispered to Kagome. The teacher cleared his throat.

"Okay class, we will be doing a short skit today on a scene from a Shakespeare play." He pointed to a stack of books with SHAKESPEARE written in ridiculously large letters across the front. Many of the students sat there wondering how they didn't notice the pile earlier.

"Each of the team members has to take on an active roll. As in, I don't want someone holding scene cards and then leaving to skulk in the background." The teacher glared sternly at a few specific students who were known to do this.

"Now have fun!" The 'specific students' rolled their eyes, their faces saying plainly, 'yeah right'.

"Never mind Kagome," Kurama sighed, "I believe I have received the answer to my question." Kagome nodded in response and got one of the books for her group.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Romeo and Juliet." Was the immediate answer. It was kind of freaky how Eri and Yuki said it at the same time.

"Let me guess, Shuichi will be playing Romeo?" Kagome grinned at Kurama's carefully blank expression. She had a feeling he wasn't too hot for the idea.

"Of course." Eri said.

"And I'll be playing Juliet!" Her two friends once again said it at the same time. Eri and Yuki glared at each other.

"No I will!"

"No it's gonna be me!"

"In your dreams!"

"Which will become a reality!"

"…" There was a sudden silence. A sly look came upon the shorthaired girls' faces. It was unholy. At least, it was from Kagome's point of view. They turned to her.

"Actually, maybe Kagome should be Juliet."

"Sounds like an idea to me."

"Guys, that's alright. I don't really want to be Juliet." Kagome laughed uneasily and waved dismissively at the idea. It was then that Kagome noticed that her friends weren't evening paying attention to what she was saying. They were already pouring through the scenes, trying to look for their own part.

That is, until the fire bell rang. Some people groaned, having looked forward to doing the skit. Some cheered, since they didn't want to do it. A few smirked, probably involved with why the bell was ringing in the first place. They all started calmly leaving the classroom. Kurama paused, and (discreetly) sniffed the air. He turned to Kagome, who was behind him.

"Kagome, are the emergency sprinklers-" Kurama tiredly rubbed his temples. Was he cursed? Everyone, especially the girls, started screaming as they became soaked through and through. He glanced at Kagome, who was bright red. He wondered why.

…

…

Oh…

…

…

Kurama coughed lightly and removed his jacket. He handed it to Kagome, who accepted it silently. A few moments later the teacher 'requested' that the boys loan out their jackets too. This caused lots of disappointed sighs.

"Can everyone hear me?" The intercom crackled. Everyone nodded dumbly, even though the person wasn't be able to see or hear. "…Good. That was just a false alarm. There is no need to worry. I repeat this was just a false alarm. We will resume classes and the regular schedule immediately." As this was said, the alarm went silent and the water stopped. The intercom crackled again.

"Hey there little guy, what are you doing at this big kids' school?" Everyone heard. The students and teachers wondered if the principal realized that the intercom was still on.

"Are you alright? How about you tell me where your mommy-Ack!" There was a dull crash followed by a few thumps. Their language arts teacher looked over at the other teachers in question. They shrugged.

"My kids get inside the classroom!" He ordered. Without remark, they headed inside. The other teachers followed his example. Kagome gave Kurama's sleeve a tug. He was frowning, and sniffing the air once more.

"Something isn't right." He said. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the update Captain Obvious." She whispered to him.

"What are you talking about?" Kurama raised a brow. Kagome pushed him into the niche between their classroom's doorway and the lockers. She quickly squeezed herself in. Mr. Language Arts Teacher stuck his head through the doorway and scanned the area for students (Kagome had yet to learn his name.). The hallway appeared empty. He closed the door.

"Kagome, why are we here?" Kurama inquired, wanting a decent explanation as to why he had to suffer the discomfort of being squished.

"You said something isn't right, so we're going to check it out." Kagome whispered. She started walking towards to principal's office. They went past one hallway and were approaching the one with the stairs. Kagome heard a hiss. She looked up and saw a colored gas leaking through the emergency sprinklers.

"That is a sleeping gas, it won't be harmful the others. Cover your nose and mouth. Let's get downstairs quickly. Yusuke and Kuwabara are probably already there."

"What about Keiko? I'm pretty sure Yusuke can't tell the difference between one colored gas and another."

"He has a lot more experience than one would guess." Kurama stated, then continued, "But Keiko's class is on a field trip, and so he has nothing really to worry about."

"That's good." Kagome said, not sure what else to say. He nodded absently and started running down the stairs. Kagome followed. It was a bit hazy, as the heavy gas tumbled step by step to the ground floor. Kagome coughed, feeling a little dizzy. Kurama urged her on.

Like he had guessed, the boys were already heading towards the principal's office. Hiei was accompanying them.

"Hey guys." Kuwabara waved.

"Would any of you happen to know what's going on?" Yusuke looked at Kurama and Hiei, who were the normal sources of information.

"I'm afraid I don't know much." Kurama admitted. "All I can say is that what is leaking out of the sprinklers is sleeping gas. Everyone will be unconscious for a good hour." Yusuke nodded, looking very much like a leader assessing information. It was definitely different than how he was acting the other day, in Kagome's opinion. It seemed that Yusuke had two sides to himself. Maybe the others were like that too. She glanced at Kurama. Their eyes met for a second. The contact broke quickly, as Hiei spoke.

"I checked the room where the human was attacked by the 'child'. There wasn't anyone there, and I couldn't sense any demon auras. "

"In other words, shorty doesn't know anything important." Kuwabara snorted.

"If you were paying attention moron, you would realize that the 'child' was neither human nor demon. If that is of little importance, please say so now that way I can get written permission from Koenma to decapitate you." Hiei half-sneered, his eyes narrowing.

"Well maybe if you weren't so _vague_ I would have known that!" Kuwabara accused with a finger.

"Amazing, the village fool learned a new word. I guess getting beaten to a pulp enough times has positive side effects."

"Why You-!" Kuwabara yelled, finally losing any remnantscontrol.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the trouble Koenma told us was coming." Kagome thought aloud, ignoring the two. Being around her friends from the feudal era gave her lots of experience.

"It probably has everything to do with it. At least, I hope so." Yusuke groaned and reclined his head into his hands. It added a nice touch to his delinquent style.

"Why would you hope for that?" Kagome gave Yusuke a 'you-weirdo' look.

"Well, if this has something to do with that weird stuff Koenma was talking about, then that's just one problem. But if isn't related, then we have two problems. Do you see what I'm saying?" He explained.

"No, but I can hear it." Kagome joked. Yusuke chuckled. Kurama shook his head and smiled.

"Can we take a look at the principal's office now?" Whined Kuwabara, shortly after Hiei whacked him with his sheath.

"Sure." Yusuke went into the office. It was pretty average, once you got past the part of it being trashed. It had the cheap desk with a peculiarly comfortable chair to go with it. The room was lined with metal file drawers painted the normal dull gray.

Most of the drawers appeared to have been ripped put. The files were scattered everywhere. It was the student files. Kagome caught a picture of one of her friends laying at the edge of the split desk.

Yeah, it was pretty average once you ignore the strange short creature that was staring right at you on that aforesaid desk.

**_THISISALINETHISISALINE (Out takes) THISISALINETHISISALINETHISISALINETHISISALINE_**

"It's a beautiful night." He commented casually-to the untrained eye. But Kagome could tell he was cautious of the angry woman before him. " But it is nothing to the dark drowning depths of your eyes that captures the unsuspecting mortal man's heart. They are forever doomed to worship you but would rather have that fate than to never catch sight of the celestial splendor you wield so effortlessly." Miroku grasped the young schoolgirl's hand.

"Oh Sango dear, you rival the very celestial maidens!" He said passionately looking at Kagome. Kagome blinked, a sweat drop forming on her.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Miroku, but I'm Kagome." She told him. He blinked a few times himself and reached for something in his robes. He put on a pair of glasses, which made his eyes look large and buggy, and looked at her.

"Jeez Miroku why don't you just get contacts like any other normal human being!" Sango exclaimed.

"We are from the feudal era. We aren't supposed to have them!"

"Its not like anyone would notice. And even if they did, you could just wear your glasses." Sango said. Miroku looked horrified at the very suggestion. He didn't even dignify it with an answer. Instead, Miroku turned to one of the cameramen.

"John I thought you said Sango was going to wear the white and dark blue kimono!" He cried. The poor camera guy shrugged helplessly.

Senko got up from her chair and threw Miroku's script at him. Then she took the binder that held the story plot, character descriptions, and threw it at John. Both the males tumbled over at the attack.

"WHY AM I SURROUNDED BY IGNORANT CRETINS!" She screamed. Senko ran to her room and flung open the door. She looked back at the girls. "Of course I'm not talking to you." She told them offhandedly. Senko then cried out again, went into her room, slamming the door shut. It wobbled uncertainly on its hinges but managed to stay on. Everyone eyed door the way you would a rabid beast.

"Eh he he, lets take it from when the girls walk over to Miroku." John looked into the binder that caused the large bump on his head to appear. "Oh Miroku, Sango is wearing a black and pink kimono…just thought you should know." He added. Miroku's eye twitched and his hands went up as if to grasp the man's neck. Sango and Kagome shook their heads and dragged him away from the cameraman.

"I've been here since you came out of the hut…" Inuyasha said slowly, as if speaking to a small child. His eyes narrowed. "You were thinking about that weird redhead weren't you?" He accused. Kagome blinked.

"Why would I be thinking about Kurama?" Kagome asked, blinking. "Well, beside the fact that he's totally hot, mature, sensitive, smart, hot, modest, understanding, patient, hot, kinky (Come on, he uses a rose _whip_ for a weapon!), he can turn into a demon with ears and tails, and I'm in love with him. Did I mention he was hot? I'm not sure if I did. Anyway, why in the world would I be thinking about _Kurama?_"

Inuyasha shrugged. Sango and Miroku smacked their foreheads.

…

…

Oh…

…

…

Kurama stared blatantly at Kagome. She gave him a look.

"Like what you see?" She asked slyly. Kurama shrugged.

"I've seen better." He commented. That was not the correct answer. (Was there ever one? Kurama thought. Obviously, truth is _not_ the best policy.) Kagome decided to show how much she frowned upon his answer by bludgeoning him.

A/N: The outtakes are just silly stuffthat come out when I write. The story is 'real' and not a 'movie' so to speak. Sorry for taking so long to update!


	4. A Separation and a Reunion

To not cause any confusion, it must be stated that the short creature was not Hiei. It was even smaller than him, at an impressive two or three feet. The 'child', as Kagome believed who it was, had sharp facial features. It was almost pinched, like it had taken a large bite out of a lemon. The nose was long and beaklike while the eyes were large. They reminded Kagome of a hawk's eyes.

"So, what and who the hell are you?" Yusuke broke the staring contest. The creature blinked owlishly. Its nose twitched.

"I am a servant of Oberon and Titania, known as Peaseblossom." Its voice was squeaky but didn't really sound high-pitched. No one witnessed Kurama's raising brow.

"You're a girl?" Kuwabara asked, registering the 'blossom' part of the name. "You don't really look like one."

"Well you're no great beauty yourself Kuwabara." Yusuke remarked dryly.

"Hey!"

"I'm not a girl." Peaseblossom pointed out casually.

"Oh. Sorry about that, little guy." A somewhat embarrassed Kuwabara apologized.

"I'm not a guy either." The creature added in the same manner as before. Horror dawned on poor Kuwabara's face.

"You're _both!_" He gasped. The creature shook its tiny head, causing its short dark green hair to swish back and forth.

"I'm neither." Peaseblossom said flatly, looking impatient. "Which one of you is the Light?"

"Light?" Kagome asked. The creature jumped on her shoulder. Kagome bit back a yelp. It peered closely at her.

"You might be it. You are very bright." Peaseblossom commented. "I guess the sprite was right about that, at least." Yusuke picked up the creature from behind by the neck of its shirt.

"What the hell is this Light crap you're talking about, squirt?" Yusuke lifted Peaseblossom high enough to look him in the eye. It gazed back at him.

"If I said I was a daisy,

Would you think to call me crazy?" Peaseblossom asked incredulously. Eyebrows rose amongst the group.

"You're a daisy?" This was getting to be a bit much for the orange haired teen.

"No!" The creature exclaimed in exasperation, Kuwabara's questions finally irritating it. Peaseblossom roughly bopped him on the nose. Yusuke moved it away. Kuwabara sulked in a corner, rubbing the offended appendage.

"Now its time to take my leave,

I must report to the king and queen.

So please, I hope you'll grant reprieve,

We'll share sights when I am seen." Peaseblossom twittered. Then with a sound not unlike the crack of a whip, accompanied by a theatrical amount of smoke, the creature disappeared. Kagome coughed.

"Am I the only one who is seriously confused?" Kuwabara waved, in vain, at the smoke in his face.

"For once Kuwabara, you are not." Yusuke replied.

"Hn." Hiei commented.

"So guys, what are we gonna do now?" Yusuke finally said. They had drifted from the principal's office to the small field in the school. Its hunch backed tree now held the two black haired boys of the group. Kuwabara was stretched out on the grass while Kagome and Kurama sat against the tree.

The sky was blue, Kagome noticed under the green canopy. Few clouds dotted the wide expanse. She squinted at one far off in the horizon. Tilting her head an inch to the right, it looked a little like a rose. She snorted. Someone once told her that what the clouds form in your eyes is what you truly yearned for. Why in the world would she want a flower? Sure, she liked roses as much as any other girl, but this wasn't the time or the place for such things.

What was that creature, Peaseblossom, anyway? Kagome had to admit that was one of the odder experiences in her young life. Actually, ever since she met the spirit detectives, things have gotten a lot weirder a lot faster. First Naraku, and now this new mysterious malevolent being, can't a girl get a break? Honestly.

Kagome frowned. At least with this possible enemy (because technically, nothing but the school stunt today had happened) they knew their name. Oberon and Titania…

"A penny for your thoughts?" Kurama leaned to the left. He cocked his head in question, trying to see what she was looking at. Kagome stifled a giggle. He reminded her of a curious cat, or maybe more appropriately, fox?

" I'm just wondering what in the world is going on. So far all we know is that everyone seems to be gathering close to my home, the enemy is possibly this Oberon and Titania that Peaseblossom mentioned, we know that what we're dealing with isn't any type of creature we know about, the enemy isn't afraid to gas children but they also didn't use anything deadly. This whole situation is just confusing." Frowning Kagome pulled a few blades of grass out of the ground. "And I feel like I've heard the name Oberon before. I just can't remember where."

"What kind of name is Oberon anyway? In fact, why do all the morons we face have such stupid names?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama ignored him. "The new student that arrived today, Puck, mentioned Oberon."

"When did he do that?" Kagome blinked.

"In the quote he said when he came into the classroom."

"Oh," Kagome said embarrassed, and then admitted, "I spaced out after the 'Thou speakest aright'."

"Well, that's better than the idiot over there. He would have been long gone after the word 'thou' was said." Hiei said. He moved one branch lower and was almost on the opposite side of Yusuke.

"Hiei, you're too kind." Kagome said somewhat sarcastically (This was probably going to be the closest thing to a compliment she'd ever get from the guy).

"You guys are mean." The wounded Kuwabara sulked.

"Did the child get his feelings hurt?" Sneering, Hiei glared at the carrot top.

"Come off it Hiei." Yusuke yawned and stretched out his arms. Hiei's mouth closed; surprised that it was Yusuke who spoke up first.

"Do you suppose that Puck is a part of this?" Kagome asked, trying to get the group back on topic. Besides, if she were busy talking, she wouldn't get distracted by the lock of red hair tickling her arm.

Kurama turned his head, which caused the hair to brush lightly against her. She bit her lip to keep back a smile.

"I suspect he is. If you were to read the play _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ by William Shakespeare then you would notice many similarities to what has been occurring. For one, Oberon and Titania are king and queen of the fairies. Peaseblossom happens to be the name of a fairy that serves Titania. Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, is a sprite who is a servant to Oberon."

"Does anyone know what happened to the principal?" Kuwabara asked out of the blue. A sweatdrop formed by the side of Kagome's head. She had completely forgotten about the poor person.

"I guess we should start searching." Kagome said, some of the guilt leaking into her voice. She stood up and dusted the bottom of her skirt. The others followed her example, aside from the dusting off of the skirts. To the black haired girl's knowledge they didn't have any.

"Bye." Hiei left after deciding that the task was either too menial or had nothing to do with him. The branch moved not an inch, almost as if there had been no one there. Kagome thought he would make a decent ninja.

"He doesn't stick around very long does he?"

"Not really," Kurama confessed, "not unless there is a fight to be had."

"Well that's Hiei for you." Yusuke shrugged and the. "Do we really have to look for the principal?"

Kagome gave him one of the looks she would give Inuyasha every now and then. The same look that was usually accompanied by a dish of hellish pain that made 'Inquisitors' everywhere green (or various other colors) with envy.

Much to Yusuke's chagrin, and what in the future he would always blatantly deny, he squeaked. Kuwabara stopped his own vivid imagining of a gory end long enough to laugh at the teenage boy. Yusuke politely asked for him to eat dirt and selflessly helped the orange one in doing so. Kuwabara was soon in full-blown hysterics and the spirit detective's attempt at murder was not working.

Kagome gazed at them in exasperation, her evil glare having wandered out sometime during the commotion. Kurama had his back to them with his face in his hands. It was embarrassing to be seen with them. People in the street pointedly ignored them while opting to move at a slightly faster pace.

Hours later they found the principal in the janitor's closet asleep. She looked a little drained, but none the worse for wear. When she woke (seconds after they opened the closet) she was very confused. They covered by telling her that from the bruise on her forehead 'somethin' must of fallen off the shelves and knocked ya out.' The principal was a little suspicious as these words fell from Yusuke's mouth, but accepted it as she looked upon the angelic faces of Kurama and Kagome.

In the end the principal let the school out early. She was reluctant to do this, but seeing as she found her office destroyed she felt it to be the best choice. The students stared stupidly at one another as they left the building.

"Kagome!" Eri called out. Kagome turned to her. "Hey, where did you go? You weren't in the classroom when we woke up." She trotted over as she spoke with Yuki and Ayumi at her heels.

"Kurama and I had to look for the principal."

"Oh." Eri blinked.

"Well you didn't miss anything important. Class was so boring not even the teacher could stay awake!" Yuki exclaimed.

"That's pretty sad." Commented Eri. The girls nodded. Kagome bit her lip.

"But didn't Mr. Watari assign us to do pages 236 through 245 in our textbook?" Ayumi questioned.

"That's right!" Eri said. "And we don't want to forget those math worksheets we were given today."

Kagome groaned.

Kagome picked up the items she needed and headed for her spot in the back of the shrine. After she slipped on her gloves the schoolgirl began tilling the soil. Packets of seeds were ripped open and spilled haphazardly into the small holes in the ground. Using the shovel again she covered them up. Kagome picked up her watering can and began the watering process. She set it down and surveyed the fruits of her labor. It would have worked better, the green gardener reflected with a frown, if there had been _water_ in the _water_ing can. She restrained from smacking her forehead.

Kagome made her way to the spigot on the side of the house. She stumbled suddenly but managed to catch herself before she fell. The watering can was filled and finally put to use. The tiny garden was hydrated nicely. Now the high school student had no other reason to procrastinate from doing her homework. She sighed and headed back inside.

Nibbling at her pencil in concentration, Kagome slowly figured out the math problem. She scribbled it in using her current chew toy. With a sigh she sat back into her chair. That was the last of it. She was officially caught up on all her work.

With a glance outside Kagome ascertained that it wasn't too late in the evening.

"I should probably go check up on Inuyasha. Gotta make sure he hasn't killed Shippo…and the same for Sango with Miroku…" She murmured under her breath. Standing up, Kagome stretched out (heard some bones pop in eerie ways) and headed towards the door. In the hallway Sota was laying on the ground, dreamily staring at the ceiling. Lying down next to him, she soon followed suit.

"What are you looking at?" Kagome inquired.

"The ceiling." He sighed with a sappy look upon his young face.

"Why?"

"Titania…" Sota's expression turned especially mushy, like mashed potatoes. Kagome found the name familiar but she could not quite place the origin.

"What does this person have to do with you staring at the ceiling?"

"If you turn your head slightly to the left the popcorn in the ceiling makes a shape that looks like her sandals."

Kagome face-faulted.

"Right." She stood up and pumped a fist up. "Sota, go ahead and tell the girl you like her!"

"I can't Kagome. We could never be together." He sighed sadly.

"Why not?" She put her fist down.

"There is a bit of an age gap."

"How large?" _It's probably something silly,_ Kagome thought, _the girl is probably just a year or two younger than him. _She rolled her eyes.

"Roughly ten years or so…" Sota turned to lie away from her. Her mouth dropped.

"Just exactly how old is this Titania?" Kagome demanded, her hands at her hips.

"She looks a few years older than you."

Kagome decided not to deal with this. She also decided that it was about time she took another soak in the hot springs with Sango.

On the way to the well, Kagome picked up a seed packet. She figured it had dropped from her pocket when she stumbled earlier. With that thought the teenager jumped to the past.

"And then he says that she looks a few years older than me!" Kagome exclaimed and slammed her hands down. Sango blinked and wiped the water off her face. Kagome gave her an apologetic glance.

"I wouldn't worry about it Kagome. It's fairly normal for younger boys to develop crushes on older women." Sango soothed.

"Okay…" the girl from the future willed herself to calm down. " Thanks Sango, you always seem to know exactly what to say."

"You know…I had an experience similar to this…with Kohaku." Sango's voice got softer as she spoke. Kagome leaned closer to her friend but kept silent.

"I wasn't sure what I should do, and father was too busy with the demons. But after a week or so Kohaku liked a different girl. It was rather funny actually." Sango smiled somewhat sadly. Kagome stared at her reflection. She clenched her fists, causing the image to distort.

"We will help Kohaku." The demon slayer's expression was heartrending.

"I know everyone shall do their best. That is more than I could ask for." Sango stood and wrapped her towel around herself. She stepped out of the water and walked to her clothes. The younger woman watched her movements. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Sango." The rustling of clothing halted. "Please don't give up hope." Sango finished dressing and leaned against her boomerang.

"I am tired Kagome." Her back was still to her younger friend. She looked every bit as weary as she sounded.

"I know." Was all Kagome could think of to say. It seemed rather lacking as an answer-

"Thank you." –but Sango appreciated the underlying sympathy. The slayer's shoulders relaxed. "Hurry up Kagome, or there shall be no food left for us."

Kagome smiled and climbed out of the spring.

The schoolgirl arrived back at the camp. She settled herself beside Shippo, who just sank his teeth in a leg of meat. The fox demon smiled at her.

"Hay Kagome. Wan some of vish mea? Ish really goo!" He chattered with his mouth full. She scooted back to avoid food flying in her face.

"Where did you get the meat from?" Shippo took the time to swallow before he spoke this time. The modern girl was thankful.

"A gigantic snake demon attacked a village today. Inuyasha sliced it to pieces using the windscar." Shippo bit into the meat again. "The villagers should eat well for a week now."

_Eww…_Kagome thought, …_wait a second, where did Shippo get the leg?_

"Shippo where did you get that leg?" Kagome asked.

"Leg? This isn't a leg, its part of the tail. Silly Kagome." The boy snickered. "So, do you want some?"

"I think I'll pass." Kagome scrunched her nose up.

"Then what are you going to eat?" A speck of ash landed on Shippo's nose. His eyes crossed and his nose wiggled. The demon sneezed.

"I'll just stick to having ramen tonight."

"I thought you were sick of it Lady Kagome?" Miroku questioned, his face lit up with a wry smile.

"Consider my taste for it renewed." The schoolgirl sifted through her yellow bag and brought out a ramen container. She finished preparing it when Inuyasha sat down next to her. He stared at her dinner with hungry eyes.

"Here's a wild guess," Kagome said dryly, "Inuyasha, do you want the ramen?"

He gave her a look. She handed it over. The yellow bag was searched once again, but there was no ramen left to be found. In the bottom was a little green apple with a small bruise at the top. Kagome picked it up.

"Bon appetite." Kagome bit into the apple.

Everyone settled down for the night as they usually did. Miroku was lying where Sango had knocked him unconscious. Sango set out not too far away from Shippo, who was nestled up next to the girl from the future. Inuyasha had found another tree to haunt that conveniently let him survey the camp whenever he needed to. With the comforting thought of yellow eyes watching out for trouble, Kagome drifted off into sleep.

It felt like moments later when her eyes shot open. She felt a malevolent force approaching. Kagome searched the surrounding area quickly. The others were still asleep. Was it just her imagination? She jumped as she felt another tug at her senses.

"Wake up guys! Something is coming." The others stirred at her shout. Sango reached for her boomerang and Kirara transformed. Miroku grabbed his staff while Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga. Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows as well as she could with Shippo huddled at her feet.

The ground beneath shook. From the center of the camp surfaced a mole demon. Its cloudy eyes closed as sunlight penetrated it, the demon snarled.

"I feel…I feel…the jewel shards. Where are they?" Its voice rumbled deep within its throat. The shard seeking party froze as the mole slowly lumbered in a circle. It halted in front of Kagome. It leaned in closer and sniffed the ground.

"A woman child has them…" The demon said thoughtfully. The sniffing continued. "Not far from here with a fox demon…she's a priestess?" It seemed slightly startled at the concept. It seemed to shrug it off and disappeared underground.

"Did it leave?" Inuyasha was bewildered. Shippo scurried up his shoulder. Sango stood still and scanned the ground.

"No! Its there!" She yelled as a small mound of dirt moved towards Kagome. The schoolgirl also noticed this and started to run.

"Kagome, climb the tree!" Miroku shouted.

"What!" Kagome screeched as she dodged a claw shooting up from the ground. "This is not the time to be climbing trees!"

"Do what he says." Sango huffed as she ran after the mound. "It won't be able to sense you as easily if you're in a tree."

Kagome nodded and began the ascent. The bark was rough underneath her hands. She was suddenly reminded that the last time she climbed trees was in elementary school. This was going to take a while.

Inuyasha jumped into the hole that the mole made in the center. Shortly after Shippo was seen flying out of that same hole. Sango looked a little peeved as she held a smoking poison that would have flushed the mole out. Now she could not use it since the poison would bother the half demon too.

Miroku plucked the poison from her hands and threw it into the hole.

"Whoops!" The monk said cheerily. Then he said a little louder. "Sorry for bumping into you Sango. I hope the smoking poison doesn't bother Inuyasha."

A string of curses were heard. The ground rumbled and the mole demon burst out into the air. It was like as if it hadn't just unearthed a tree and sent it flying deep into the forest. Miroku and Sango watched in silent horror as Kagome screamed, 'I'm never climbing a stupid tree again!' The tree disappeared from view.

Lying down where the tree used to be were both Inuyasha and the mole demon. Both of them were groaning with swirls in their eyes.

"Miroku is in troooouuuuubble!" Shippo whistled. The fox demon joined the pile of swirl-eyed demons.

Kagome tried to scream again but the air rushing past stole her breath. With a crash the tree landed on top of another tree. She closed her eyes tightly and held onto the branch. Branches snapped and the trees shook violently. One of the limbs hit her head. Kagome lost consciousness.  
When she came to she heard a high-pitched bark. Hearing it made her head throb. Kagome looked down in the direction it came from. At the base of the tree she had landed in stood an ethereal silver creature. Its swirling yellow eyes met hers. It barked again.

Kagome clutched her head as another wave of pain passed through her. Something warm and wet met her fingertips. The schoolgirl didn't have to look at it to know what it was. Darkness ebbed into her mind. It would be dangerous to go unconscious again when she had a concussion. But Kagome couldn't fight it. She felt so tired.

The creature below whined and scratched at the bark of the tree. Kagome struggled to open her eyes and looked at the creature. It did not seem evil. At the very least, she didn't sense any malevolence around it. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows. How was she to get down? She tried to move her leg, but it was caught between two branches.

The girl from the future looked back to the creature, of whom which was climbing up towards her. It's stare stayed on her and gave her the chills. It seemed so familiar, yet so different. It jumped to where her leg was trapped and moved its gaze to the branches. It moved close to her leg and sniffed it. Kagome giggled.

The creature's head shot up clearly startled. She bit her lip to silence the noise. It continued with what it was doing. Placing a branch carefully between its teeth, it snapped it in half with its powerful jaws. Kagome cringed at the sight of the bruise on her leg. The creature nudged her, wanting the human to make haste with climbing down.

She started moving down. Whenever a branch got in the way, the creature was there to remove it. This made the descent fairly easy. Kagome's feet touched ground and she brushed her sore hands on her skirt. The creature jumped down to her side.

Kagome sat and wrapped her arms around her legs. She put her chin on her knees. The fox sat down in front of her. The staring continued. It's image stilled and sharpened the longer she looked.

It was a fox.

"You know…" Kagome moved closer on her hands and knees, " you are kind of cute." The fox tilted its head.

"Interesting." A voice came from behind. Kagome stiffened and the fox curiously looked over her shoulder. Ever so slowly, the schoolgirl turned around. It was Sesshomaru. Holding onto his leg was a little girl in a checkered kimono. A step behind the demon lord was a green imp. Kagome knew them to be Rin and Jaken. It was the two-headed dragon further back that she was unfamiliar with.

"You are separated from Inuyasha?" It was more a statement than a question. Kagome thought he looked bored. Rin let go of Sesshomaru as she recognized the priestess of the Shikon. Jaken looked irritated.

"That wench probably got herself into trouble again." He snorted and looked at the human before them. "Don't think we are going to help some stupid girl." Jaken huffed and turned around. A rock hit him in the head. Kagome did not see where it came from.

Sesshomaru walked past her followed by his motley crew. The dragon dragged Jaken with it. The lord disappeared within the trees once more. A moment later Rin popped her head from behind a tree. Kagome's heart tightened.

"What are you waiting for Lady Kagome? If you don't hurry up, you'll get left behind!" The little girl scolded. Kagome smiled weakly in relief. She didn't want to be left here alone. There was a better chance of surviving another day if she was with Sesshomaru.

Kagome jogged to catch up when she remembered the kindly fox. She looked back to see it watching her with it's tails rapt lazily around it's legs. Biting her lip, the schoolgirl wondered what she should do. The mysterious fox spirit waltzed up to and ahead of her, effectively making the decision for her. Feet feeling especially light, Kagome followed as the small girl urged her to hasten.

The sun was midway through the sky when Kagome finally admitted to herself that they were not heading in the direction of Inuyasha and the others. The tree had carried her far, but it should not take half as long as they have been walking to arrive at the camp. Rin's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Lord Sesshomaru, is it time for lunch yet?" The lord nodded in response and led the group to a river. Rin tied her kimono up so it would not get wet as she waded into the water. Jaken squawked at the indignity at having to make yet another fire for humans. Sesshomaru sat at the base of a tree and watched them all.

Awkwardly standing at the edge of the scene was Kagome. She was not sure how she would fit into this and her first instinct was to hang close to the one most like her. But the schoolgirl steeled her resolve and placed herself in front of Sesshomaru. The demon turned his attention to Kagome.

"Uh." She stuttered. His golden eyes, though similar to Inuyasha and the fox, were incredibly intimidating. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I, uh, was wondering where we are heading."

"I received a report on a disturbance west of here. I must see to this first." Sesshomaru's interest returned back to the little girl in the water. Kagome nodded, even though the lord was no longer paying her any mind.

"Lady Kagome, do you want Rin to catch you some fish?" Rin stood in the river with a fish thrashing vigorously between her palms. A small pile of still fish was on the bank. It amazed Kagome how independent the child was. She knew she would never be able to catch fish with her bare hands.

"I would love to have some. Thank you very much Rin." Kagome settled herself between the fish and the fire. She grabbed a few sticks surrounding her and worked on cooking the fish. Rin finished and joined her at the fire. All heads turned at once, even though Sesshomaru's movements were silent.

"Jaken, watch Rin and Kagome." He looked intently at Jaken, making sure he understood the violent consequences should he fail. Kagome realized that the demon used a lot of body language. One moment he will make it seem you are the center of his attention. The next he will make it seem it would be more fun to pick dirt off his shoe rather than make eye contact.

"I will be back shortly." He spoke in the usual crisp and concise way. With a turn and a step the silver-haired man was gone.

Blooper(s)

"You are separated from Inuyasha?" It was more a statement than a question. Kagome became irritated.

"Does it _look_ like I'm with Inuyasha?" She twitched. _I move from one stubborn dog demon to another. I can't seem to get away…#$ I still owe that mole fifty bucks for showing up…_

"I did find the slobber and proclamations of 'Tetsusaiga is mine' strangely lacking." He seemed thoughtful.

"Hey! Pay attention to me!" The fox whined. "That's not fair. As soon as _Lord Fluffy_ shows up no one cares about anything else. Why is it always Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru! Aren't I cute enough not to be forgotten?"

Kagome and Sesshomaru were seated at a table talking.

"Oh my KAMI Sesshy-bishie-no-chan, I have this shampoo you have got to try! It's like totally Sugoi! You Sengoku Jidai people are total bakas! You see my inu yokai-sama-san, its something the future calls Herbal Essence…" Sesshomaru blinked.

"Your mouth moves and I hear nonsense." He flicked a nonexistent dust mote from his shoulder.

"NANI! Aho-Bishie-Baka! Use the Herbal Essence!" Kagome violently shoved the bottle towards the lord. He scooted his chair back and refused to touch the bottle.

"Come on Sesshomaru, it will make your hair perfect and soft!" Kagome pleaded with a hungry look towards his silvery locks.

"Any further attempts at perfection would be meaningless." The man blinked once more.

"Are you implying that you have already reached perfection?" Kagome asked feeling abashed. Sesshomaru lifted one flawless eyebrow. Kagome pouted.

_Smug bastard._

_A/N: Sorry about the abrupt change of scenes. The computer won't allow me to put a line in between today..._


	5. Some Fox Slobber and a Flashback?

Small insects and critters chattered in the darkness of night. Stars twinkled in the sky and the moon seemed low and full. Clouds misted around the lunar circle and softened it's peculiarly callous glow. The embers of the fire were low and warm; all the environs melded together and put Kagome into a hypnotic daze.

Her eyelids were heavy. It was a struggle to open them every time she blinked. Although her head wound had been treated earlier by Rin, using bandages from a certain reluctant toad thing (she still had no idea _what_ he was), Kagome was not certain it was safe to sleep yet. She wished now that she had not missed the second part of first aid in health class…

Something cold and wet touched her cheek. Kagome's eyes opened wide in surprise, wondering when exactly she had closed them. She spied the offender mere centimeters from her face. The fox's eyes reflected the dim light of the embers, giving the original gold a slight red hue. It licked her face.

"Yuck," Kagome's nose scrunched up in disgust, "fox slobber." She wiped it off with the back of her hand and sat up. Looking around she noticed that the others were fast asleep, Rin murmuring about flower crowns and Jaken simply snoring and snorting. If Sesshomaru had arrived back at the camp, she certainly could not see him. Kagome did not know how long he was usually away from his travel group, but he had been gone for quite awhile.

"I wonder where he went." The futuristic priestess whispered and scratched behind the fox's ears when it nudged her hand. It nipped her hand and ran to the edge of forest. The fox only stopped for a moment, it's hazy, softly glowing tails swished gently, and continued forward. Kagome scrambled to her feet and chased after it.

The underbrush was fairly thick, and some of the branches hung low. Every few minutes the fox would stop, see that she had caught sight of him once more, and then continue moving. This pattern went on for a while; Kagome could see glimpses of the moon through the leaves, hanging high in the sky.

Kagome, as gracefully as ever, ran headfirst into a tree branch. She clutched her head as her body twisted around. A root grabbed her foot and she fell, screaming the whole way. Her back impacted into something hard. The scream was cut abruptly, as was her breath. Kagome picked herself up and noticed that the 'something' was Sesshomaru.

"Has Japan woken up yet? You may need to make more noise." He remarked, and motioned her to stand next to him. Out of mortification she silently obeyed. Her eyes widened as she came upon the object of the lord's attentions. It was a relatively small pond, clear down to the bottom in which small perfect ovals of stones lay. The pool of water glowed faintly, like a firefly. Surrounding the pool were large, heavy, gray stones. Some of the couples held a stone atop them, forming a simple square-like shape that a child would draw to make a house.

"Look into the pool." Sesshomaru ordered, and knelt by the edge. Kagome mimicked the action and gazed into the iridescent depths. She felt a warmth spread through her body. Her aches and fatigue melted away.

"This area holds a large amount of spirit energy. Naraku's presence had rendered it invisible to demon senses." He watched his hand that lay close to the pool curiously. Little green sparks jumped from fingertip to fingertip.

"So demons are invading in this area?" Kagome noticed the sparks dancing by the edge of the pool, coming closer to her hands. One spark, a few paces ahead of the others, hesitantly reached forward. The touch tickled. A small smile lightened across her features.

"What are you going to do?" Kagome asked. The other sparks approached in a bolder manner.

"There is very little that can be done. A sentry, perhaps, would at least reduce the number of vermin." His eye twitched.

"Can't the area be sealed or something?"

"Can you stop the falling of the rain or the rise of the sun?" Sesshomaru watched the sparks skip between her fingers. Two happened to jump right into each other and combined. It continued along a little fatter and a little slower.

"What do you mean?"

"This is a _true_ sacred ground, not that acid you humans call holy powers. This is nature in one of its more pure forms. To close off the energy would result in something a lot worse than rogue demon attacks." With that cryptic remark the demon lord rose to his feet. Kagome moved to stand, but to no avail. She looked to her hands where the green sparks had wrapped themselves around, with the chubby spark stretching from her hands to the pool.

The silver fox bounded towards her, yipping franticly. The chubby spark established the connection and Kagome found herself pulled underwater. Her last vision of the surface was a look of exasperation on Sesshomaru's face. It would not be a lie to say her sentiments were along the same lines.

The feeling as she drifted down deeper into the darkening depths was similar to going through the well. There was always that mysterious pull that was like nausea, just not as unpleasant. Sota had asked her before what it was like to travel through time. She could see in his eyes his thoughts of theme music and psychedelic tunnels. Truly there were no words she could find, or maybe even exist, that could do justice. Not from the lack of trying, of course. Kagome thought of it as being somewhere between having the breath knocked out of you while on the drop of a rollercoaster ride and having a bad case of the chills (a.k.a. 'goose bumps') while being tickled. Maybe if she could somehow tie-dye those feelings…

Grass stretched in every direction for half a mile, and guarding its circumference were trees old and tall. The moon shone with eerie brightness on the field. Within the center was a stone structure quite similar to that of the pond, except more expansive in space and stones. One stone, not far from Kagome, was set apart from the others. In it was a hole the size of an orange. She jogged towards it, feeling drawn. After she had settled herself onto her knees, Kagome peered through the hole. Her eyes widened.

Inside the circle of stones were people. All of them were taller and leaner than the average human. They wore bright and colorful clothing of the smoothest materials. In the middle by the altar they crowded with an air of anxiety. Two figures stood out on the higher steps of the platform. One was of the sun, shining and golden and burningly feverish. The other was of the moon, glowing and silver and frigidly chill. Across the altar they held their hands together desperately.

Just outside the ring of stones was a deathly purple miasma. Kagome gasped. She could recognize that demonic mist anywhere. From that miasma rose an odious being of great familiarity.

Naraku chuckled, his face hidden behind the baboon fur. The Sun and Moon turned to him in surprise. The crowd moved behind them. The two turned their attention back to the altar and muttered fervent prayers. The altar burst open and a gigantic carnivorous plant sprang forth. Its flowery red head flowed from side to side, its moves hypnotic like that of a cobra. It snapped at the half demon and devoured him in one bite. The crowd cheered. The sun and moon broke away from their grip. Relieved smiles lit their faces.

Moaning sounds erupted from the plant; the colorful people watched it with horror stricken faces. Kagome could not help a gasp. The plant curled in itself and started gnawing at its thick stalk. Abruptly it reared its head back and let out a piercing shriek. From its origin in the altar spread a black disease like a net of death. The plant went still and the black faded away. All other color faded along with it leaving it brown and dead. The crowd cried mournfully.

Out of the head burst out the white robed demon laughing with malicious delight. The stalk was left to fall to the ground. Insect-like tentacles grew from his body. They reached the shining figures and flung them away like dolls. The female flew first into the boulder Kagome peered through. Startled, Kagome backed away. There was no sound of impact, merely a sucking snap. She moved to the hole once more in time to see the golden male seconds before he was absorbed in the boulder. For those brief seconds, his eyes had stared into hers.

With the sound of horrible screams Kagome looked back to the crowd. Naraku ripped into each and every one of them. The blood sprayed into the air glowing blue, turning red moments before it reached the ground. The moon's light made it sparkle. Most of the people attempted to flee. A few of the braver souls conjured vines to constrict Naraku. All of them were cut down with easy strokes. It was not long before the area was littered with bodies. Naraku looked back to the woods. Small demons moved forward carrying large wooden barrels. They began a process of storing the blood inside the barrels.

Naraku turned his attention to the direction in which he had flung the leaders of that race. He moved with his normal ease, but began to frown as he got closer. Kagome ducked and held her breath. She felt dizzy with adrenaline and sick with apprehension. She heard an irritated tap and a dark murmur. Then she heard nothing.

Cautiously, she looked through the hole. Naraku, the demons, the blood…was all gone. Everything was as it was when she first appeared. Feeling the rock, it felt normal, dead even. Kagome stood and walked to the other side of the rock. There she observed a faded written seal ruined by a scorch mark. She carefully examined it but after five minutes there was still no sudden and brilliant epiphany. The schoolgirl eventually grew frustrated and wandered towards the center of the stones.

The altar here was broken too. Everything else, she determined with a quick scan, was relatively normal. There was no evidence of the carnage she had witnessed before. The thought of Naraku however, made any conclusion she made tentative. Chills ran down her spine at the thought of him being alive. He was no stranger to such mind games. Kagome fervently wished Kurama or Miroku were here. They were more adept with figuring these things out. Her job was to stumble on evidence with the occasional saving everyone through sheer force of will. Both were usually literal. Kagome moved closer to the altar. A small puddle of water was on the broken stones. She had not seen puddles anywhere else.

An arm shot out of the puddle and grabbed onto her shirt. Kagome shut her eyes as it pulled her done. It was going to bust her head open on the stone…Her eyes shot open when her body met water. She gasped. Sesshomaru pulled her out of the water. Kagome coughed hard trying to get the water out of her lungs. The demon walked towards shore and gently set her down.

They sat there for a moment waiting for Kagome to get her breath back. Sesshomaru took this time to study her. He came to the conclusion that she was wet (including her bandage. She would have to take that off soon) and miserable. He could not really do anything about either at the moment; this would not be a safe place to start a fire and he was not inclined to making jokes.

The fox had sidled up close to Kagome. It snuck in licks to her cheek, stealing bits of the moisture on her face. She batted the creature away, trying to look irritated by its behavior. Sesshomaru stood and the other two looked to him.

"The camp is this way." He stated and proceeded in that direction. Kagome watched him disappear into the woods. She turned to the fox and gave him a big hug.

"Thanks." She whispered. The schoolgirl released her hold and scrambled to catch up with the demon lord. The fox sat there for a moment. Its keen gold eyes searched the water. Then, with a swish of tails, it trotted after the group.

When they arrived the moon was gone from the sky. In the east pinks and reds flared, signaling that the sun was on the rise. Jaken was up and stirring the embers. (Just in time too, Sesshomaru had been prepared to kick him awake. Kagome could tell by the malicious twinkle in his eye.) They reddened and caught the new fuel set above them aflame. They sat by the fire. Kagome changed positions when she felt too hot so that her clothes would dry.

"What happened?" Sesshomaru inquired. Rin, who was close to the demon, yawned and held on to a corner of his pants. Her eyes were half-lidded and hazy from sleep. She smiled at him and murmured happily as she sat up. Her hair stuck up in all directions.

"I was transported somewhere. It may have been that place in the past. I'm not sure." Kagome bit her lip. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you see…it had the big stones like the pond did but a lot more. And the only water there was the puddle on the altar." She sat up so the back of her skirt would face the fire. "That was when your arm popped out and grabbed me. By the way, how did you do that?"

"I reached for the spot where you disappeared." He commented. Then he added, "I may not know what spell may have taken you, but most magic follows common sense. People tend to overcomplicate it."

"Huh." Kagome blinked. She turned to face the fire. "I'll keep that in mind."

Rin stood up and went into the forest. She yelled at Jaken to come with her to tell her what was edible. The imp-thing squawked but followed her. He was doing his best not to get stoned or kicked that day.

"Anyway, I saw this rock with a hole in it facing the stone circle. It seemed strange, so I looked through it…" Kagome detailed to Sesshomaru the strange people she had seen and the horrible things Naraku had done.

"Do you think…that he is still alive?" Kagome fiddled with the ends of her skirt. The demon lord frowned.

"He has made such falsifications before. It is possible, but I do not believe he is. There has been much chaos within the demon ranks. And many that were sealed away by him have been released." Sesshomaru answered.

"He sealed people away?" Kagome was surprised. She turned her attention from her skirt and towards the demon. The fox, who had sat next to her earlier, lifted its head.

"There were those who refused to join him that he could not kill. He tricked them into a convenient position in order to seal them away."

"No wonder we rarely had any help fighting against him! He got rid of them before they had a chance to act." She steamed. Sesshomaru snorted.

"It was wise of him keep his enemies separate. If they had became allies and acted earlier Naraku would have been destroyed before he became so powerful." Kagome folded her arms together. She looked at the demon lord with suspicion. It sounded like he was complimenting Naraku.

"I shall look into it." Sesshomaru decided. He bowed his head in her direction. "They have arrived."

Kagome spun around to see Inuyasha sprinting in her direction. Following behind were Sango, Miroku, and Shippo hitching a ride on Kirara. Sango waved, relief washing over her face to see her friend safe. She jumped off and hugged Kagome tightly. The slayer was ignoring, of course, that the schoolgirl happened to be a bit damp.

"You really scared me back there." Sango whispered. The monk overheard.

"She scared all of us." He sounded tired. Kagome could see the dark circles under her eyes. Sango let go of her, allowing Shippo to have a turn. Inuyasha stayed back, too relieved to make a biting comment. She felt guilty that she had worried them so, but it felt nice that she had such wonderful friends.

"What's that?" Shippo exclaimed. He pointed towards the silvery fox. It watched the party warily. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. There was something familiar about it, and he did not like it. Kagome looked back to see what they were looking at.

"Oh! That fox saved me when I landed in a tree. Sesshomaru met with me shortly after, but it stayed with me."

"He." Inuyasha growled.

"Huh?" Kagome gave the half demon a weird look.

"'It' is a 'he'." Inuyasha restated, not bothering to hide his annoyance. Where had he felt this presence before? It seemed so familiar. Kagome turned to the fox.

"Er, I'm sorry about that Mr. Fox. I didn't know." She apologized. The fox tilted his head to the side.

"I don't think he understands you Kagome." Inuyasha folded his arms in his patronizing way.

"_I_ think he understands me very well." She huffed and crouched before the fox. After an answering yip, the silver spirit laid his head on her knee and gave her a look akin to adoration. Kagome giggled and patted his head. The fellow travelers exchanged looks.

"Does that mean he is going to travel with us?" Shippo asked, once again posing a question that the whole party wanted to ask but did not have the balls/temerity to do so. Kagome opened her mouth, but Sesshomaru beat her to it.

"That would not be a wise decision." The demon rose and walked towards them.

"Why not?" Kagome stood and frowned. What's so wrong with having her new friend come along for the ride?

"Demons, including spirits such as that, tend to be territorial beings. You already travel with two, or generously I could say three, and they barely coexist as it is."

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome protested. "They get along just fine. See!" She pointed to them. To her dismay Inuyasha had started to amuse himself by pulling on Shippo's tail while the fox gnawed viciously on his ears. Kirara was doing her best to ignore them, but hissed whenever they grew too close.

"…see…Sesshomaru…" Kagome laughed pitifully. "They're like _brothers_."

That deadpan look was too cruel.

Kagome looked to Sango and Miroku for support. Nervously, the avoided looking into her eyes.

"Kagome…Sesshomaru is right when it comes to demons." Sango stated carefully. The ground must be fascinating.

"He _is_ a demon. He would know what is best." Miroku supplied oh-so-helpfully. By all rights she should hate them, Kagome pondered, but they were only human and Sesshomaru was a demon that had the ability to have acid come from his claws. Sometimes, friendship only went as far as having the flesh melted off one's bones.

"But…!"

"Adding another that has no emotional attachment to anyone but you would not only be troublesome but dangerous. The spirit fox has no reason to trust your companions. He could be dangerous to them." Sesshomaru interjected sharply. He turned and walked away from them. Rin and Jaken, they having returned during the conversation, followed after him. The discussion was over.

"We will move ahead. You should say good-bye to him." Sango said with gentle understanding. Kagome crossed her arms.

"And stop pouting." Inuyasha added. Kagome snorted and turned her back on him. She waited like that until she knew she was out of earshot. The girl from the future sat and patted her thigh. The fox settled his head upon it. She scratched gently behind his ear.

"I haven't known you long." Kagome whispered. "I think I will really miss you. I don't know why, but you seem so familiar." He looked at her with those golden eyes. They were more similar to Sesshomaru's than Inuyasha's being so cold and feral: which made his gentleness around her all the more odd.

The fox's attention changed elsewhere as it began to sniff her pocket. Startled, not to mention curious, she reached inside. Her hands met with smooth paper. She pulled it out and discovered that it was a packet of rose seeds. The package had somehow survived through her involuntary dip in the water. The fox sniffed the package curiously.

"You want these?" Kagome asked. After opening the package carefully, so as not to have seeds flying everywhere, she picked up a few with her fingertips.

"See, these are red rose seeds. They're pretty hard to grow but I was hoping my mom would help me out…" _Mom has a job now so that isn't an option anymore._ "You know what, Mr. Fox? I think I'll just let you have these. You should try to see if you can make them grow. If not, then eat them. Or something."

Kagome dug a small hole in the ground and displaced the seeds in her hand within it. She placed the packet in front of him. Ever so carefully, the fox picked it up with his teeth while trying to avoid puncturing the bag. A wry smile stole on to Kagome's face.

"In return for the seeds, you gotta promise to be nice to girls in sailor outfits, 'kay?" She giggled when the fox stared at her in a way that Shippo would sometimes (in that he had no idea what she was going on about). The schoolgirl stood and ran to catch up with her friends. The fox left in the opposite direction. Neither of them looked back.

**BLOOPERS**

He could not really do anything about either at the moment: this would not be a safe place to start a fire and he was not inclined to making jokes.

But he would try this once.

"Kagome?"

"COUGH, HACK, COUGH…what?"

"There were two muffins in an oven." The demon lord started seriously. Kagome looked confused. When had muffins existed in ancient Japan?

"One muffin said to the other 'Man, it's hot in here!'" He spoke the muffin's part with enthusiasm. He even made a gesture of wiping off sweat off his forehead.

"Then the other muffin said 'AHH Talking Muffin!'" He spoke this muffin's part with the same enthusiasm. This time he threw his arm into the air in a gesture of surprise and fright. Kagome had stopped coughing. She had a strange expression on her face.

"…Let's go back to the camp." She said. She started following the fox. She hoped the fox was actually heading towards the camp. Sesshomaru watched after them. When was she supposed to laugh? That's what one does after a joke, right? And why were they walking in the opposite direction of the camp? Sesshomaru pouted.

'Humans suck,' He thought to himself.

**2**

"That was when your arm popped out and grabbed me. By the way, how did you do that?"

"I saw a quarter and tried to get it." He glared at her. "But you just had to get in the way, didn't you? Now I'll never find it." The demon lord huffed and walked away. Perhaps, deep in his soul, he still held hope for finding that especially shiny quarter. Rin gave Kagome the finger and followed after him.

"It seems like someone's time of the month." She grumbled, not quite sure who she was referring to.

At the edge of the woods, the fox stuck something peculiarly shiny in its tails. It snickered mischievously before trotting over to Kagome. Now it had her all to itself.

**3**

Ever so carefully, the fox picked it up with his teeth while trying to avoid puncturing the bag. A wry smile stole on to Kagome's face.

"Now should a girl named Senko ever come up and suggest that you star in her story, bite her hard. _Real _hard. Trust me, it's for the best. I can't tell you how long I get stuck staring at some retarded rock while she sits on her tush thinking about what _I_ should be thinking about."

The fox stared at her, as if saying that he too shared many pains because of this story.

"But, my silver friend, you're _technically_ not a main character. When's the last time you had to stand in front of a fire 'drying your skirt' and hoping to whatever merciful deity that she'll hurry up with the typing before your butt catches on fire?"

The fox had no comment.


End file.
